New Memories
by superwho-rhi
Summary: Dr. Charlotte Litz has been a history fanatic ever since she was a little girl. One day, she's asked to work on the biggest project of her life: Captain America.
1. Chapter 1

"You want me to do _what_ sir?" I say, standing up from my desk. "Sir!" I follow Nick Fury out of my office as he coolly waltzes out of it.

"I thought the assignment was quite clear," he says, barley giving me a backwards glance.

"You want me to recreate a 1940's hospital room?" I say. "Exactly why, sir, do you need me to do that?"

"Dr. Litz," he says, finally coming to a stop. Director Fury turns to stare me down, easy with his six-foot-two stature towering over my five-foot-five stature. "I need you to do it because you are the historical specialist. So…get to designing and quick." I raise an eyebrow at him as he turns away from me and starts to walk away once again. "I need it done by tomorrow at noon."

" _What?"_

oOoOo

"When is this from?" the agent asks me, handing me the small drive.

"Um—May, 1941," I say, crossing the recording of the baseball game off my list. I look around the small room…pleasantly satisfied. It genuinely looks like a recovery room straight out of the 1940's. "Fury should give me a bonus for this," I mumble under my breath.

"I've already talked to accounting about it," I hear behind me. I turn around to see the Director standing in the doorway.

"Glad you like it sir," I say, hugging my clipboard to my chest. "Care to tell me what this is for?"

He draws in a breath, holds it for a moment, and then finally releases it. "Follow me," he says. I obey and follow him out of the large box that contained the hospital room. We walk to edge of the large room until Fury comes to a stop. "I assume that you've heard of Steve Rogers?"

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Captain Steve Rogers?" I ask for clarification. He nods his head slightly as I rack my brain. "Born July 4, 1920, spent most of his childhood and teens in and out of hospitals, denied for military service multiple times during World War 2 until-"

"A simple 'yes' would have sufficed," Fury says, narrowing his eye at me. I shrug one of my shoulders as he continues. "I assume that you also know he disappeared in 1944." I nod my head before he continues. "We found him."

I'm sure my eyes pop out of my head. "You—you've what?"

"He's on his way here, now." He says, continuing on. "ETA is five minutes."

"Sir, woah, hold on a second," I say, waving a hand and my clipboard in the air. "Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America is on his way here…now? And he's alive?"

"Yes-"

"And the room is to…" I say, gazing back towards the make-shift room. "To what…not shock him that he's waking up in 2011?" I look back at Fury who is staring at me with a steel expression. "Sir…you know that's a horrible idea, right?"

"If you are done, Dr. Litz," he says, ignoring my comment. "I'd appreciate it if you hung around and talked the agent that will be posing as a nurse through it. Give her info if Captain Rogers starts asking questions."

"Yes sir," I say with a sigh. As he walks away, I let out a puff of air. _This has got to be his dumbest idea…ever._ I walk back over to the box and go inside the room, fixing last details.

"Dr. Litz," I hear a few minutes later. I turn around to see a hard-faced agent looking at me. "Captain Rogers is here if the room is ready."

"Yeah, we're good to go," I say, nodding my head. I switch on the radio, the sound of the baseball game filling the small room. I press a button on a remote causing a light breeze to come into the room and the sounds of cars passing by start as well. When I turn towards the door, I see four agents carry a body in on a stretcher. He was massive. Not in a way that would stop people in the streets, but big enough to be set apart from other men. But there he was, Steve Rogers in the flesh…right in front of me. I watch as the men transfer him to the bed and then leave. Once they leave, a couple people in white lab coats walk in. "What are y'all doing?" I ask.

"Removing his sedative," the older doctor says. After the i.v. I hadn't noticed is removed, she turns to look at me. "He should wake up in the next few minutes."

"Okay," I say with a nod. "Everyone out then. It's show time."

oOoOo

I stood outside the room, holding a tablet that was streaming live video feed from inside the room. Steve Rogers still lay on the bed unconscious, and had been that way for ten minutes. "Few minutes my butt," I mumble under my breath. I try and zoom in on his face, watching for signs of him to wake up. I strived to use as little technology as possible...I wasn't very good at it. Half a minute later, his eye lids start to flutter. "Alright, he's starting to come to," I say. I look up towards the agent that was dressed as if she could've stepped right out of 1944. "On my signal you can go in." She nods her head as I watch Captain Rogers again, watching him as he sits up, looks around the room, then slowly makes his way to the edge of the bed. I motion for the agent to go in, seeing her appear on the screen a moment later.

"Good morning." The agent's cool voice says. "Or should I say, afternoon."

'Where am I?" The captain's voice says, full of authority.

"You're in a recovery room in New York City." She replies.

His eyes narrow slightly. "Where am I really?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand." The agent replies, her voice staying steady. _Crap, crap, crap,_ I think, _he's not buying it_.

"The game, it's from May, 1941. I know, cause I was there." Steve says, looking at the agent. Anger was filling his face as he slowly stands up from the bed. "Now, I'm gonna ask you again. Where am I?"

"Captain Rogers-"

My head snaps up as two of the agents dressed in full swat gear make to enter the room.

"Who are you?" Captain Rogers yells as the agents enter the room. Before anyone can calm him down, Rogers knocks both the agents back against the wall.

"Captain Rogers, wait!" The woman agent inside yells. As I look up to the entrance of the room, all I see is a chunk of plaster coming straight at me...then black.


	2. Chapter 2

When I start to come to, I feel a sharp pain right above my eye. I let out a hiss as I instinctively reach up towards it. "No, Dr. Litz," I hear as someone grabs my wrist. I open my eyes and see one of the doctors from before above me. "I need to dress that wound."

"What happened?" I mumble as I see him bring a q-tip closer to my eye.

"When Captain Rogers broke out from the room a piece of plaster caught you above the eye," he says, working diligently. "It's nothing too serious, just a small laceration."

"Good," I say with a sigh of relief. As the doctor starts to put a dressing over it, out of the corner of my eye I see Fury walking up to me. "I tried to tell you this was a bad idea."

"Are you alright?" He says, once again ignoring my comment.

"I'll live," I say with a nod as the doctor finishes. "You know, getting hit in the face with plaster wasn't part of our deal."

"I am aware of that," he says, giving me his ever present blank stare. "I would like for you to do something else for me." I give him a nod to continue as he helps me stand. "Talk to him."

"Who?"

"Captain Rog-"

I cut him off with a laugh. "I'm sorry sir, but are you serious?" He continues to stare at me, telling me he was. "Sir, he just busted through a wall and knocked me out in the process!"

"This is an order Dr. Litz," Fury says. "Consider it your first assignment."

I let out a groan as I start walking towards the elevators. "And what exactly am I supposed to talk to him about, sir?" I wasn't too keen on the idea of being in the same room as the guy. There was no telling how he would react.

"Help him."

I wait for Fury to continue, but he doesn't. "Help him...what? How?"

I step onto the elevator, thinking Fury was following me, but he stays outside of them. "However you see fit." He says as the doors slide shut.

oOoOo

"How is he?" I ask the guard outside of the door.

He gives me a noncommittal shrug. "He's been quiet," he tells me. "Just sitting at the table."

I let out a partial sigh of relief. "Let's hope he stays that way," the guard gives me a nod as he opens the door to the room for me. As I enter, Captain Rogers looks up and starts to stand up when he sees me. "Please, stay seated," I tell him. He gives me a single nod and sits back down as I near the table. "It's nice to finally meet you Captain Rogers, I'm Dr. Charlotte Litz," I extend my hand across the table.

"Pleasure is mine, ma'am," he says, his large hand enveloping my small one as he shakes it.

"So," I say, sitting down at the table across from him. "Sorry about that wakeup call earlier." I say with a forced laugh. I really had no clue what I was supposed to say to him. He looked just as uncomfortable as me.

"That was..."

"So it was the baseball game that gave it away?" I decided just to go with whatever came to my mind, follow my gut.

He nods his head slowly. "Not to be rude, but are you a shrink?"

I let out a small chuckle. "No, Captain Rogers, I'm not," I say, giving him a kind smile. He briefly returns it. "I guess that would be a logical guess after what you just found out. No, I'm actually a Historical Specialist. Just a nerd-doctor, not a medical one."

"Oh, okay," he says with nod. He looks down at his hands folded on the table for a moment before looking back at me. "Yeah, it was the game that tipped me off."

"Well, my apologies," I say. He stares at me with a slightly confused expression. "Did Fury not tell you that I was coming in?" He shakes his head. "Oh, well, okay then. I was the one who designed that room you woke up in." His face turns blank at the news. "When I designed it, I wasn't told what it was being used for."

"Oh," he says again. He stares at me for a moment, his eyes floated upwards a little. "Did you get that when-"

I nod my head. "When you broke out of the room," his brows furrow together slightly. "Piece of plaster got me. I guess you could say we're even." I try to add a chuckle at the end, seeing the dark expression crossing his face.

"It seems like I'm the one who should be apologizing," he says.

I shake my head at him. "No apologies necessary," I say. "I don't blame you for your actions." He nods his head at me as the room grows quiet. We sit for a couple minutes in silence, him looking at his hands and me looking at him. "Okay, I'm sorry." I say, snapping him out of whatever thoughts he was having. "I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be doing here. Fury just told me to come in here and 'help you'…whatever that entails."

He stares at me for a few breaths. "Well…I do have some questions," he says. "Maybe you could answer those?"

I nod my head. "I can try. If not, I'll know where to find them" I can see the invisible gears in his head starting to churn. "As a matter of fact, why don't you come with me?" I stand up from the table and he follows suit. When I open the door, the guard gives me a questioning look. "Captain Rogers and I are going to my office."

"Dr. Litz," the guard says, caution in his voice. "I don't think I can let him-"

"Oh, he's not going to run away again," I say, rolling my eyes. I turn back to look at the Captain, who was standing right behind me. "Are you going to run away again?" he shakes his head quicker than I thought possible for him. "See?" I say back to the guard, smugness in my tone. The guard doesn't say anything else as I walk past him, Steve following and then coming to a comfortable pace beside me. He walks beside me, granting us a few stares and whispers. We make our way to one of the lower levels in silence. "Here we are," I say once we reach my office. I reach my hand out and place it on the wall, letting the scanner read my prints. I feel some comfort hearing the familiar click, alerting me that my office was open to enter. "As I told you," I say, walking around the office and turning on lights. "I'm the Historical Specialist for S.H.I.E.L.D.—go ahead and have a seat," I say, gesturing to the red upholstered wing-backed couch along one of the walls. He sits down as I sit myself in my chair behind my desk. "Hope you don't mind, but I'm losing these heels…and this bandage," I wince a little as I peel the gauze off. Steve just stares at me as I ramble. "Sorry…I ramble a bit when I get excited…or nervous."

"You're nervous?" Steve asks. "Why are you nervous?"

I look up from my computer screen at him. "Some of the stuff…probably a majority of it actually…that I'm going to tell you, well…" I say, hitting the print button on the list I had compiled. "You aren't going to like it."

"And the last time I didn't like something, you got hurt," he says, looking away from me. "Yeah, I understand."

"What? No," I say, standing up from my chair. I grab the list from the printer and walk over to him. As I sit down on the couch next to him, I place a hand on his forearm. He tenses for a moment but then relaxes. "Captain Rogers, you've been frozen for seventy or so years. Not all the news I'm going to give you is going to be good."

He turns his head to look at me, his blue eyes boring into my own blue eyes. "You can call me Steve, Dr. Litz."

I give him a smile as I withdraw my hand. "And you can call me Charlotte."


	3. Chapter 3

"Charlotte," Steve responds, a small smile playing at his lips. He lets out a sigh as he glances down at the list in my hands. "What's that?"

I hold the list up in the air, waving it a little. "My treasure map," I say with a smile that soon falters. "Well…of sorts. Come on, follow me Steve." I stand up from the couch and motion for him to follow me. We walk over to the wall behind my desk. The wall was littered with pictures of my favorite people from history. I lift up my framed picture of Walt Disney, letting it prop up on the hinges hidden behind it. A keyboard pops out letting me type in my password. After that, a panel on the wall opens up below it revealing a combination lock. "Only one you'll find in the building," I say, turning it around and around. "I like to keep things old-schoo-" I glance back and up at Steve, who was just staring at me with an unamused expression. "Never mind, ignore the comment." I turn back to the lock. A moment later a section of the wall releases. I step over to it a push it open. "Alright Captain, after you."

He gives me a wary glance before stepping through the open section of wall. "What is this place?" I step in behind him.

We both gaze upon the rows and rows of shelving. "This place is three hundred square feet of historical artifacts and documents." I step around him and start walking towards the center of the room. "This is the main one. S.H.I.E.L.D. has a few more scattered across the globe and I am in charge of all of them, lucky me, huh? Anyways, there are some artifacts here that museums don't even know exist, only Director Fury and I. Some of these artifacts, last time they were touched or even seen by a human was with their original owners. It is the motherload of the historical timeline of…well, the world." A moment later, we reach a big mahogany desk with a small tiffany lamp perched in the middle of it. "There are also documents, files, and even letters about, pertaining to, and or belonging to important people in history." I watch Steve as he sits down at the table whilst looking around at the shelving surrounding him. "One moment please," I say, disappearing down an aisle. I return a minute later, the artifact I had retrieved tucked behind my back.

"And this is where I'll get my answers?" he asks, giving me a curious stare.

"Well, you have three options," I say, taking a step closer to him. "I could set you in front of a computer, help you look up stuff-"

"I'm sorry…a what?" he cuts me off.

"Exactly," I say with a deadpan stare. "We'll get to that though. Second option is we just sit and talk. I could easily do some research and then be able to answer any question you have." He starts to say something but I stop him. "Again, we'll get to that eventually. And your third option, which, I have a feeling you will go for: let you see it for yourself."

He hangs his head for a moment before looking back up at me. "Yeah, I think option three would be the best." I nod my head as I take a step closer. "So, what's behind your back?"

"Our first subject of discussion," I say. I finally pull the object out, revealing Captain America's very first helmet. "You."

oOoOo

"So Dr. Erskine's formula is what kept me alive," Steve says, less of a question—more of a statement.

"Yes, that is what the doctors found out," I say, nodding my head.

He nods his head, and is quiet for a moment. "What about my team?" he asks. "The Howling Commandos?"

I nod my head, holding up a finger before heading down an isle that was behind him. Returning five minutes later, I set the stack of files on the table in front of him. "These are updated until last month," I say as he opens the top file. "I tried my best to keep up with them. Just for my own curiosity…and for posterity. Of course, I never dreamed you'd actually-" I shake my head as I notice him looking up at me.

"Thank you," he says, a gentleness in his voice.

"You're welcome," I say, smiling back at him.

I watch him as he silently flips through the files. "Dugan is the only one still living?"

I nod my head. "Still cracking jokes like he was thirty," I say with a little smile. Steve raises an eyebrow at me in question. "I started checking up on them, in person, a couple years ago."

"Oh," he says. "Could we go see him?"

"I don't see why not," I say with a shrug. "I'll email Fury and ask him."

Steve nods his head as he pushes the files to the side. "What about Agent Peggy Carter?" I nod my head again before once again heading down an aisle. When I return, I set the file down in front of him. I sit down in the chair across the table from him as he opens the file and reads it. After a few minutes he shuts the file and his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"You okay?" I ask him quietly.

"Yeah, I just…" he shakes his head. I wait patiently while he sits there, mulling over whatever thoughts were going through his head. "This is a lot to take in."

I nod my head. Obviously I had no clue what he was going through, but I was trying to understand. "I'll see if we can go see Agent Carter too," I say. "If you'd like."

He nods his head slowly. "Do you think we could take a break?" he asks quietly.

"Of course," I say. I stand up from the table and wave a hand for him to follow me. "I know just where to go."

oOoOo

"He's fine, sir" I say into the phone. I poke my head around the corner to see Steve still sitting at the booth, eating his burger.

"When I said help him I didn't mean for you to-"

"You told me to help him, however I saw fit," I say into the phone. "He needed a break, it was getting a little overwhelming. So this is how I'm helping him...sir."

Fury let's out an exasperated sigh. "Very well, Dr. Litz," he says, admitting defeat. "Also, I will see into setting up some transport for the trips you requested."

"Yes sir, thank you," I say. The line disconnects without another word said. It was a trait at S.H.I.E.L.D. that got on my nerves. I pocket my cell phone before making my way through the restaurant back to Steve. "Sorry about that," I say to him as I slide back into my side of the booth.

"Is everything okay?" He asks.

I nod my head. "Oh yeah," I answer. "Fury was just a little...on edge about us coming here."

"Oh," he says, looking down for a moment. "Do we have to go back?"

"Not if you're not ready," I say.

Steve stares at me for a moment, as if deciding something. "We're not in any trouble?"

I shake my head. "No Steve, we're not," I say. "Director Fury told me to help you...however I see fit. If this is what you need...then this is what we'll do. Okay? This is all about getting you comfortable and up to speed."

He just stares at me again before a small smile breaks across his face. "I appreciate that." I return his smile before starting to eat again.

oOoOo

"So I'm curious," I say, capturing Steve's attention. "I know the city definitely looks different...but what about Central Park?"

He looks around the park before answering. "In ways," he says, nodding his head.

"Oh, okay," I say. "I'm sorry, I'll try to keep my questions to a minimum."

He lets out a small chuckle, the sound pleasing to my ears. "Don't worry about it," he says. "I don't mind."

"Oh, you'll start to mind," I say. "When it comes to history I can get a bit...obnoxious. Or, so I've been told."

"Who said that?" Steve asks, a small downturn of his mouth.

"Co-workers, friends," I say. "Ex-boyfriends."

"Really?"

"Yeah," I say with a humorless chuckle. "Those relationships didn't last long."

"How did you start working for S.H.I.E.L.D.?" He asks unexpectedly.

"Family history," I tell him. "Grandparents worked for the SSR then my parents worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., now here I am."

"Were they all historical specialists?" He asks.

I shake my head as I sneak a glance at him. "They were all field agents. My grandparents and parents both were actually pretty good friends with Agent Carter."

"Really?" He says. "Do you know her?"

"No, unfortunately," I say. "My parents said I met her once when I was a baby...but I'm not able to remember it."

He simply nods his head. "So, did the field just not appeal to you?"

"In a way," I say with a shrug. I let out a sigh. "Okay, I guess I better tell you...before you start hearing rumors."

"Rumors?" He asks warily.

"I'm not necessarily...normal? I guess that would be the word," I say. "Okay, so the human brain only has so much room for memory. But I have double that. It's like the mental version of what you have basically."

"You were injected with-"

"No, no, no, no way," I say, shaking my head quickly. "There was…um, an accident…when I was younger."

A silence settles around us. "Not want to talk about it?" he asks.

"Not particularly- hey now, wait a minute," I say, placing a hand on the crook of his elbow and pulling him to a stop. Steve turns to look at me, slightly alarmed. "When did this turn to questions about me? You're the one who just came out of the ice after seventy years."

"Well, you said this was all about me getting comfortable, right?" I nod my head at him as he leans in just ever so slightly, enough that a normal person probably wouldn't even notice. "If I'm going to be comfortable around you, I got to get to know you a little bit, right?"

I drop the hand I hadn't noticed I left on his elbow. "You certainly do Captain Rogers," I say as I turn and start walking again. A smile creeps onto my face as he falls into gait beside me. "You most certainly do."

oOoOo

 **Review Responses:**

 _TortoisetheStoryteller:_ _Yes! Eventually….mwahahaha!_

 _Guest:_ _Thank you random citizen!_

 _Fanficqueen306:_ _Thank ya *hair flip* I think they're kinda cute too_

 _ixistargirl89ixi:_ _thank you! :)_

 **Thank you everyone for reading! Reviews make me smile!**


	4. Chapter 4

"How's my favorite Commando doing?" I say as I walk into the room. Timothy Dugan turns his head away from the tv, giving me a huge grin. Much to his chagrin, the former commando was living in a veteran's home in northern California. After giving him a quick hug, I pull up a chair and sit next to him.

"And how's my favorite historian doing?" He asks.

I give him a shrug. "Oh, still living in the past, but what's new, right?"

"I'm telling you sweetheart," he says shaking his head at me. "You're young! You should get out of that archive more often."

"Well, I'm here. Aren't I?" I say.

"That is true," he says, patting my arm. We spend the next few minutes with him catching me up on everything that's happened with him since I saw him last. "So tell me," he says, straightening up in his recliner. "You found you a man yet?"

"Oh now-"

"I know, I know," he says, waving a hand at me. "You've told me before; you 'don't necessarily need a man'."

"That still hasn't changed-"

"But what I'm saying is that you deserve one," he says, slapping the arm of his chair. I can't help the smile that forms on my face. Tim was always concerned about my love life, convinced I needed a guy. "Shoot, back in my day you would've been snatched up in second. You're smart; you're gorgeous, total sweetheart. Heck, I can even think of the perfect guy for you."

"Oh do you?" I say, arching an eyebrow at him.

He nods his head at me. "Yes ma'am," a sad look crosses his face as he lets out a sigh. "But, he's long gone, been gone for about seventy years now."

"Well, much to your surprise, I actually brought a guy with me here today," I tell him.

"Really now?"

I nod my head. "Someone who is very eager to see you...again."

"Who?" He asks, curiosity in his voice.

"About a week ago, a S.H.I.E.L.D. team made a discovery near the arctic circle," I say. Tim's face remains blank as I continue. "Inside the aircraft they found somebody."

Tim let's out a sigh as he hangs his head. "Damn, Captain," he says quietly. He looks up at me, the youthful twinkle in his eyes diminished a little. "At least we have some closure, right kid?"

"Tim," I say, placing a hand over his. "He's here."

"Who?"

"Captain Rogers," I say. I watch as Tim's eyes grow wide, trying to grasp what I was saying. "Captain Rogers is alive. And he's here, now." He stares at me with a blank face. "Do you want to see him?"

He nods his head slowly as I stand up. I walk over to the door where Steve was standing on the other side. I motion for him to come in as he gives me an expectant glance. I let him walk past me, hanging back by the door as I watch the old buddies reunite. It was touching to watch. You could tell that they were both over-whelmed with emotions to see each other, but were holding it in…typical of military men. After I see them both sit down and start talking to each other, I step out of the room and start walking around the facility and occasionally talking with a resident.

"Are you Dr. Litz?" one of the nurses asks me. I nod my head at her. "Lieutenant Dugan and Captain Rogers are asking for you."

"Thank you," I tell her. A couple minutes later I walk up to the room and lightly knock on the door. "Hear you boys were asking for me?"

"Of course we were sweetheart," Dugan says, more youth in his face than I had ever seen. "Come on over here!"

"Oh," I say, sitting down on the arm of the couch that was near them. "I have a feeling getting you two back together is going to be nothing but trouble."

Steve just smiles and shakes his head. "Sweetheart, we're too old for trouble," Tim says with a laugh. "Well, I am anyways."

"I don't think you'll ever be too old for trouble Dugan," Steve says.

"I have to agree with you on that Steve," I say. I let out a sigh as I look at my watch. "I'm afraid it's time for us to go though."

"What?" Tim says.

"We have another flight to catch." I tell him. "More stops on the welcome home tour."

"Very few stops," Steve mumbles. "Tim, it was good seeing you again."

We all stand up as Tim shakes his head. "Captain, you can't even believe how glad I am you're back." He shakes Steve's hand before turning to me. "Dr. Litz, sweetheart, always a treat to see you too."

"You too Tim," I say, going up on my toes to give him a hug. "Don't worry, we'll be back to see you."

He gives me a smile as he claps Steve on the shoulder. "Oh, I know."

oOoOo

"You went to visit him often?" I turn my head from my book to see Steve looking at me.

"Yeah, the last couple years I have," I say. I shut my book in my lap and spin the chair to face him. We were currently on our way to London to see Peggy. "I started going to visit any of the living Commandos, gathering some stories from them."

"For S.H.I.E.L.D.?" he asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "Officially I guess," I say. "Mainly for my own benefit. I have a soft spot for World War 2."

"A soft spot?" he says, looking at me like I was totally crazy.

"I'm a history nerd," I say. "I know living through it was one thing, but from my side…the whole war was just..."

"Yeah…living through it was…" he shakes his head. I could see that look in his eye again…he got it often that look. It was like he was back in the forties, thinking about all he had lost.

"Well, it's not necessarily the war that interests me," I say, folding my right leg under my other knee. He turns his head back to me, coming back to the present. "It was that era of time in general."

"What do you mean?" I could tell I really had his interest now.

"Life just seemed…simpler then," I say with a sigh. "Not all of the hoop-la there is now…I don't know…outside looking in it looked perfect."

"Funny enough," Steve says, a small smile playing at his lips. "We thought the same thing about the future."

"What do you think now?" I ask.

"Well…" he says, shifting his head from side to side. "Howard was wrong about the flying cars."

The laugh that erupts from me is unexpected and it even earns a chuckle from Steve. "There may actually be a couple out there," I say, sobering myself up. "You never know with technology S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stark come up with."

"Stark?" he says. A confused expression crosses his face before realization hits him. "Oh, his son, Anthony."

"He actually goes by Tony," I say, nodding my head. "He's…well, I've only met him once…"

"And?"

I give him a smirk. "I was always taught if you can't say anything nice…don't say anything at all."

Steve shakes his head as he glances out the window, a hint of an amused smile on his face. He had a nice little smile, when it graced me with an appearance. Steve all over was a good looking guy, I had to admit. He definitely had that 'old-fashioned handsome' aspect. I couldn't think about him that way though, I was helping him through a major ordeal. So I push the thoughts away again as I open my messages on my phone, seeing one from Fury. "Oh, I got some news for you," I say as Steve turns to look at me again. "Fury found you an apartment."

"Yeah?"

I nod my head as I sit the phone on the little table beside my seat. "No more sleeping at S.H.I.E.L.D for you." Steve doesn't say anything, just nods his head. "Do you have any questions about anything?"

He stares at me for a second before shaking his head. "No, not right now."

oOoOo

"She has severe dementia," the nurse bluntly tells us. "Her memory only last twenty minutes at most."

I try and give the nurse the stink eye; she could've broken that news to us a little more gently. "Okay, well," I say. "I guess there's really no point in me going to prep her then."

"You want me to just walk in there?" Steve says as the nurse turns her attention away from us. "I don't want to scare her or something…"

"From what I've heard, Agent Carter is a tough gal," I say, shaking my head. "I guess I don't need to tell you that though, you know. You'll be fine. I can go in with you if you want."

Steve looks over my head towards Peggy's door before shaking his head. "No, I'll do this one myself."

"Okay, I'll be out here whenever you're ready," I say. I give his shoulder a little pat as he walks around me. When I hear the click of the door shutting behind me, I meander down the hallway. As I'm walking down the hall, I notice a girl sitting on a row of chairs, a familiar shock of red hair poking out from under the hood. I let out a sigh as I come closer to her and then sit in the seat beside her. "And here I thought you were some sort of super-spy Agent Romanov."

Natasha Romanov turns her head slightly to arch one of her eyebrows at me. "And what do you mean by that Dr. Litz?"

"A hood over your head?" I say, arching an eyebrow back at her. "Yeah, heck of a disguise there-"

"If I didn't want you to see me, you wouldn't," she snaps at me. She seems slightly offended.

"Fury send you here to keep an eye on Captain Rogers?" I ask her.

"And you," she answers. I give her a confused look. "No field assignments, which was part of the deal with Fury…right?"

"Yes, it was," I say. "But this isn't really-"

"You never know who's watching you Litz-"

"And how do you know about the deal with-"

"I know my assignments," she says. Anytime I had to talk with Natasha, it was like this, short little bursts of us cutting each other off. I let out a sigh, admitting defeat. "I just thought I would extend the curtesy of letting you know I was lurking around."

"In exchange for?" I ask her. "I know you, what do you need?"

She stays silent as she slips a hand out of her jacket pocket and hands me a folded up envelope. "I need this to disappear," she says. I take the envelope from her and slip it into my bag. "And it needs to stay off record."

"Like the other things you've-"

"Yes, just put it with the rest of them," she says. Every now and then Romanov would show up in my office with a document of some sort and ask me to 'make it disappear'. "And thank you."

"You're welcome," I say. I didn't really know why, but I felt a sort of camaraderie towards Natasha.

"I can't believe you just let him waltz in there like that," she says suddenly. "Didn't you think he'd give her a heart attack or something?"

I shrug my shoulder. "The thought crossed my mind."

"How is he?"

"How do you think?" I answer. "I have no clue why Fury asked me to do this."

"Because you could be from his time," she says bluntly. "You know they call you Ginger Rogers around HQ…right?"

"No," I say, getting slightly annoyed. "I don't even have blonde hair so that's just stupid…they could've at least gone with Vivien Leigh because….okay, yeah, I see your point."

"You're doing a fine job with him Charlotte," she says, one of her rare tender moments slipping out. "Just keep doing what you're doing."

"And you just keep an eye on us I guess," I say. "There haven't actually been any-"

"No, no one yet," she says, standing up. "I'll keep an eye out though." With that she walks away, disappearing around a corner.

I let out a sigh as I pull my legs up underneath me, settling in since I didn't know how long Steve was going to be. At some point, I accidently doze off and am woken by Steve gently shaking my shoulder. "Hey, Charlotte," he says as I wake up.

"Oh, hey, Steve," I glance around, momentarily forgotten where we were. "Oh geez, I'm sorry."

"You're okay," he says, sitting down on the bench beside me.

"So, how was it," I say, looking at my watch. He had been in there for almost two hours.

He shakes his head, looking at the wall across from us. "I had to go through her seeing me for the first time three times."

"I'm sorry," I say, placing a hand on his shoulder for a second.

He just shakes his head again and pats my hand on his shoulder before standing up. "I'm ready to go back to New York…if that's okay."

I nod my head as I stand up and grab my bag. "Yeah, I'll call the jet and have it waiting."

I start to walk down the hall until Steve gently grabs my elbow. I turn towards him and see him looking down at me. An unnamed emotion was in his eyes. I couldn't tell if it was sadness, relief, gratefulness, or a mixture of the three. "Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next couple weeks, I spent every day with Steve. Many days were spent down in the archives, some walking around New York, visiting his old haunts. Mainly, it was just us talking. I soon realized that Steve was a very quick learner. He picked up on modern day technology easily and after a day was able to get himself from his apartment to S.H.I.E.L.D. without getting lost. To me, it seemed like he just wanted someone to talk to, someone to listen. He wasn't much of a talker, but when he did, everything had a meaning. We quickly developed a friendship, but not the kind that would warrant him knocking on my door at two in the morning.

"What in the world?" I say, stumbling to my front door as the pounding continues. I knock my hip into my little table in the front hallway. "Who is it?" I ask as I finally make it to the door.

"It's Steve," the person on the other side says back.

My eyes fly open a little more as I start to undo the locks. "What in the world are you doing here this time of night?" I say as I open the door. "Come on in."

"Sorry," he says as he steps through the doorway. I shut it behind him as he turns to face me, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "You said that sometimes you're up this late so I thought you might still be…"

"Well, I wasn't," I say, tying the sash of my robe. I give him a once over, he looked like he had just come from the gym or something. "Sorry…I didn't mean to sound snippy. I'm grouchy when I first wake up."

"I'm sorry," he says again. I lean back against the table as I cross my arms over my chest. "I just…Fury just gave me a mission."

I perk up a little at that. "Oh," I say. "When do you-"

"Here in just a couple of hours," he finishes my question.

"Are you ready?" I ask, still trying to figure out why exactly he was here. "Are you nervous…?"

"No," he says, shaking his head. "This is what I know…missions…assignments. I'm ready for it."

"Okay," I say, nodding my head a couple of times. "Not to be rude or anything, but why exactly are you here then?"

"I just…" he starts to say. He shakes his head, looking away and further into my apartment. "I guess I just wanted to come by and tell you I wouldn't be there in the morning."

"Oh," I say. "Well, I appreciate that."

He lets out a sigh. "I know I've told you this a bunch but, thank you," he says. "For everything you've done for me."

"You're welcome," I say, giving him a small smile. We stare at each other for a moment before I look away. "Just, do me a favor and try not to get yourself hurt…or you know…" I wave a hand, dismissing the thought.

"I'll do my best," he says. He suddenly smiles and lets out a chuckle. "You know, the last time I promised somebody that…I wound up frozen in ice for seventy years."

"Well, how about you not promise me anything then," I say, returning his smile. "And just do it, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," he says, nodding his head.

"I'm not through with you Captain," I say, standing up straight again. "I've still got a lot to teach you."

Steve's smile drops into a smirk. "I'm sure I can come up with some questions." We both move towards the door. As I open it for Steve he turns back and looks at me again. "Stay safe while I'm gone, okay?"

"I will," I say. I'm not sure what he was expecting I would get into while he was gone, but I made him the promise regardless. I wait by the door as I watch him walk down the hall and then disappear down the steps. Once I was finally back in bed and asleep, I had restless dreams of blinding blue lights and giant caterpillars.

oOoOo

 _Steve's Point of View_

"What's on your mind, Cap?" I hear above me. I turn my head to see Natasha walking into the main command room of the helicarrier. She fills the empty chair next to me as I answer.

"Nothing," I say, shaking my head. That wasn't the truth though.

"No use in lying to me," she says coolly. "I'm trained in spotting liars." I don't answer her though; instead act like I was looking through whatever files I had in front of me. "You're thinking about Dr. Litz, aren't you?" My head instinctively snaps towards her. I hadn't meant to react, but it seemed to be a knee-jerk reaction. "You don't have to get all worked up over it. You two have spent a lot of time together over the past couple weeks."

"I'm just used to having her around is all," I say quietly. That wasn't the truth either. For some reason, I had this strong pull towards Charlotte and I couldn't stop thinking about her. I had thought about calling her, but decided against it. I didn't want Director Fury thinking I was unfocused on the mission at hand.

"Don't worry," Natasha says, waving a dismissive hand towards me. "We'll be done with this, couple days tops, and then you can see the good doctor again."

oOoOo

 _Charlotte's Point of View_

"Here you go," the waitress says, sitting my salad down in front of me. I give her a smile before she walks away. As I take a sip of my coke, I glance up at the Stark tower, looming over me like a giant. It was just a couple blocks straight down the street from me, so I could appreciate it in all its glory while I eat my lunch. Half way through the salad, I glance up at the tower again and swear I see an object fly towards it and then land on the roof. A few minutes later, all hell breaks loose. A beam of blue light flies up from the roof towards the sky, stops, and then fans out, creating some kind of hole.

All rational thought leaves my brain at that moment. All around me, people were reacting differently. Some were running away, some were taking pictures or recording it on their phones, or like me, some were staring in shocked horror. Then, things start coming out of the hole in the sky. Hundreds upon hundreds of small creatures come barreling out of it, fanning out and flying all over Manhattan. As they start to come towards us, what little field training I had received kicks in and I start ushering people into the restaurant. We all wait in there, watching through the windows as the creatures run past us. Luckily, it didn't seem that they noticed us inside.

Our luck runs out finally, about ten minutes into the attack. A group of the creatures, aliens for sure, come into the restaurant, ushering and pushing us into the lower middle part of the room. As they gather around us, shouting an unknown language and brandishing their weapons towards us, all that is running through my mind is Steve. Suddenly, the creatures start fighting and shooting at something on the upper level behind them. A smile creeps onto my face as I catch a glimpse of a familiar shield. "Everybody clear out!" I hear Steve's voice yell down towards us. Then, one of the creatures comes flying down towards us. Everyone backs away from it, as it falls to the ground, dead. Faintly, I hear a familiar beeping noise. "Get down! Everybody!" I yell instinctively. Half a second later, an explosion above us showers our backs with glass and debris. As I'm crouched down, I see a puddle of blood under my feet. _That's weird,_ I think to myself. I quickly find it's source, a large, deep gash running down my shin. Then I pass out.

oOoOo

I limp from my kitchen to the couch, ungracefully falling onto it. The day's events had exhausted me. After I passed out, someone that was near me in the restaurant was able to temporarily close the wound on my leg. Once the attack stopped, they moved me to a medic unit, were I came to, and they stitched my leg closed. It wasn't as bad as I had initially thought; the creature's blade had caught me as it fell to the ground in front of me. As I lay on the couch, I debated on whether or not to call Steve, but decide against it. He was probably back at S.H.I.E.L.D., going over what had just happened.

As I'm starting to doze off, I hear a quick, steady stream of knocks on my front door. "Hold on!" I yell towards them. "I'm coming!" I was moving slow with my leg stitched and bandaged up. The stream of knocking did not stop though until I open the door, revealing Steve on the other side. "Steve?" I say, in shock to see him standing there. He looked wore out. He was still in his Captain America suit, dirt smudge all over his face, shield hooked onto his back. "What are you doing here? Come in!"

He walks in before I shut the door. "What happened to you?" he says before I can even turn back around. When I do turn to face him, he's looking down at my leg. "Were you out in that?"

I nod my head. "I was at a café, eating lunch when the attack started," I say. I start to hobble towards the kitchen as I tell him my story. Before I continue though, I stop at the sink and wet down a washrag and hand it to Steve. "For your face," I explain to him. He takes it from me and follows me into the living room. "When they started heading towards us, everyone around me went inside," I say as I sit down on the couch, propping my leg up on the ottoman. He stares at me with a blank face as I talk. "The creatures came in and had us surrounded and then Captain America showed up. He killed all of them, actually knocked one down to where we were. As it came down, it's blade caught my leg." I tell him. His face has gone from blank to stone. It was a look that sent a chill down my spine. "But hey," I say, placing a hand on his bicep. "I'm going to be fine. It's no big deal."

He continues to stare at me with a blank face until finally, it softens. He takes his other hand and places it over mine, squeezing it lightly. "I was worried about you once we realized Loki was heading towards New York." He says.

"I'm okay," I say again.

"I'm glad," he says.

We sit there for a few seconds in easy silence. "Seems like I'm the one that needs to thank you this time," I say. His face softens a bit as both of our hands fall away from his arm. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he says quietly. I watch him as he lifts the washrag I had given him and wipes at his face with it. The dirt and grim slowly starts to come off. Once he's finished, he balls the washrag up in his hands. "It actually…felt good, being part of a team again."

"You are a super-soldier," I say. "It's what you were enhanced for. I'll tell you something," I say. "When those creatures were surrounding us, I honestly thought they were going to kill us. I thought, _this is it…I'm going out with a bunch of strangers and an empty stomach,_ but then Captain America showed up and those thoughts changed to, _I'm actually going to live._ So…thank you. I'll probably never be able to thank you enough." He doesn't say anything, just nods his head, fiddling with the washrag in his hands. I couldn't decipher whatever emotion was settling on his face. It was odd though seeing him sitting here on my couch…in his uniform.

"Fury asked me to help recover this cube called the Tesseract," Steve says suddenly, leaning back on the couch. I quickly realize what he's doing, telling me what happened, and grab my phone to record him. We sit there for almost an hour as he tells me everything that happened, all the way up to Loki surrendering to the group. When he's finished, I shut the phone off and just sit there, not sure what to say. "Once it was all over," he says, turning his head to look at me. "I had to come make sure you were okay."

I don't say anything and just move on auto-pilot. I find myself moving closer to Steve, so that our legs were touching. I lay my head against his shoulder and just sit there. After a second, he relaxes and we sit there, for an immeasurable amount of time. Eventually, I glance up at Steve and see him sleeping. I shut my own eyes, and just concentrate on my breathing. The events of the day had shaken me up, and everything Steve had told me about the alien attack had me even more freaked. But, having Steve here next to me was comforting. It grounded me. A few minutes later, I hear a ringing sound. I look down at my phone and see it ringing. The caller i.d. flashes _unknown._

"Hello?" I say, answering it in a whisper.

"Dr. Litz?" the voice says. I immediately recognize it as Natasha Romanoff.

"Romanov?" I say, shocked that she was calling me. "What are you-"

"Is Rogers there with-"

"Yeah, he's sleeping right now-"

"Damn Litz, never took you for that kind of-"

"Oh shut it Romanov, do you need to talk to him or something?" By now, Steve was starting to wake up.

"Yes, if he's not too busy putting his pants back on," she says. "I take him as the kind of guy to-"

"Here," I say, holding the phone out towards Steve. He takes it, but gives me a confused look. "It's Natasha Romanov." I stand up and limp my way to the kitchen. I fix myself a cup of tea, trying not to listen to Steve talking on the phone. A couple minutes later, I sit down at my little red table and start sipping on my tea. Steve comes in the kitchen also and sits down in the chair across from me. "You have to leave again?"

He nods his head at me as he folds his hands on the table. "Yeah," he says. "Loki and Thor are going back to Asgard."

"Are you coming back?" I don't know why I ask the question…it just slips out.

He looks me straight in the eye when he answers. "Yes, I'm coming back."

"Good," I say. I lift my cup up to my lips and take a sip, ignoring the burn.

Another silence settles between us as I continue to sip at my tea and Steve just looks at everything but me. "I was thinking," he says, clearing his throat. "Maybe we could, um, get dinner sometime…like this weekend, maybe?"

"Yeah," I say, giving him a smile once he finally looks at me. "I'd like that."

"Good," he said. I watch us face as he tries to hide a smile. I wasn't sure why he was hiding it, but it was cute to watch.

We both stand up from the table and make our way to the front door. "I'm glad you're okay," I say before he opens the door. He looks down at me and gives me a questioning look. "You know…after stopping a major alien invasion on New York today."

He chuckles a little as he shakes his head. "Yeah," he says. "I'm glad you're okay too," he says, sobering up. I let my body move on auto-pilot again, and take a step towards him to wrap my arms around his waist. He immediately responds and wraps his big arms around my shoulders, hugging me tight to his chest. I'm not sure, but I think I feel him kiss the top of my head. In one swift movement he lets go of me and walks out of the door, shutting it behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

"…and then Stark took us all to this weird Shawarma place," Agent Barton says. "Well, except Rogers…he ran off to you…you know?"

I clear my throat, as I reach forward and shut off the recorder. "Thank you Agent Barton," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. Over the past week I had been interviewing all the Avengers, except for Thor, about what had happened during the battle of New York. I wasn't doing an investigation; I was just recording their story, for posterity. Agent Barton's version had been a little more…intense. "I appreciate you coming in."

"Not a problem Doc," he says. We both stand up from our chairs, Barton reaching across my desk to shake my hand. "Always up to tell a good story."

"And a good one you had…indeed," I say, nodding my head. I walk around the desk to walk him to the door. "And thank you for everything you-"

"Ah, save it," he says, dismissing me. "It's part of the gig."

"Well, gig or not," I say. "I appreciate it."

"So," Barton says as we make our way out into the hallway. "What are you going to do with all those recordings? They going into some S.H.I.E.L.D. archives or something?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "S.H.I.E.L.D. already has your official statements of what happened. What I have is each of your accounts of what happened for posterities' sake. They'll be sealed up in the historical archives. Each account is a little different, which makes them unique."

"Different?" he grunts. "Different how?"

"Well," I say as we come to a stop at the elevators. A little smirk starts to grow on my face. "According to Mr. Stark once you ran out of arrows you were pretty much useless."

"That son-of-a…" Clint says, visibly angry by Tony's account. "Oh, I'll show him useless next time we go out."

"I'm sorry Agent Barton," I say, trying not to chuckle too much. "That's just what he said."

Barton lets out a sigh as he shakes his head. "You can call me Clint by the way," he says. "You know since you and Rogers seem to be a thing now or whatever."

"Um, thank you…I think," I say as we step onto the elevators. "What makes you say that we're 'a thing'?" I ask him. True, me and Steve had gone to dinner together…and seen each other every day since the attack…but a thing?

"Nat told me about the phone call," he says, grinning from ear-to-ear, getting some satisfaction from letting me know he knew something.

"Oh my gosh," I say, probably too loudly. "He just fell asleep on my couch!"

"Oh, so it was on the couch? Huh?" Clint says, teasing me.

I stand there flabbergasted as the elevator comes to a stop. I'm still standing there, mouth wide open as Clint steps out. "We did not sleep with each other!" I foolishly yell after him, earning me a lobby full of stares. I hear Barton laughing as he walks out the front door. Letting a frustrated grunt, I finally step out of the elevator and make my way across the lobby and outside.

oOoOo

 _Steve's Point of View_

"Your teammates frustrate me," I hear the all too familiar voice say. I look to my left and see Charlotte sitting down beside me. Just by looking at her, I could tell she was less frustrated and more embarrassed. The pink in her cheeks was more prominent against her pale skin.

"What happened?" I ask her as I reach into the bag sitting on the other side of me. I hand her a bottle of water before she says anything.

"Just Clint and Natasha being…" she says, trying angrily to twist the cap off the bottle, but failing. "Clint and Natasha." She lets out a puff of air, letting her shoulders sag a little, and then sitting up straight again. "Don't worry about it. I'm not going to worry about. So let's not worry about it."

I shake my head in laughter as she takes a drink out of the bottle. "You sure you don't want me to say anything to them?" I ask her.

"No," she says. I watch her as she gathers her long brown hair into a neat bun at the nape of her neck, the sun casting a few streaks of red in it. It had become an unspoken routine of ours to meet in Central Park for lunch. "I'm fine, I swear. So, what did you get today?"

We eat in silence, just enjoying the scenery of the park. Every now and then, I sneak glances of Charlotte. I hadn't realized how protective I was of her until I had to leave her. It came out of nowhere, and I couldn't explain it. She gave me no reason to think she needed to be protected, but I wanted to…needed to. But there was more, I just wanted to be around her. From the first day I met her and realized I could trust her, I wanted to be near her. I was worried, after the attack on New York, she'd want nothing to do with me…but maybe she felt the same way I did. "Okay," she says, breaking me out of my thoughts. "You've been too quiet for too long. What's on your mind?"

I swallow the food in my mouth before answering. "Nothing, really," I say, flat out lying.

She nods her head, but I'm not sure if she bought the lie. "Agent Barton told me I could call him 'Clint'," she says, switching gears suddenly. "said I should since me and you are 'a thing'."

"A thing?" I had a feeling I knew what it meant…but the terminology was different from what I was used to.

"Basically the same as 'going steady'," she says, clarifying my thoughts. She had a knack for doing that.

"Well, what did you say to him?" I ask her, my heart starting to beat fast.

"I didn't deny it," she says, looking a little too hard at the ground. "But I also didn't correct him."

I clear my throat. I could feel a shift coming…a make or break point. I wasn't sure what to think. "Well, is that something that you would want?" I ask her. "You know…go steady?"

She lets out a sigh. I watch her as she suddenly stands up and starts to gather up our trash. "Let's go for a walk," she says. I nod my head and start to walk beside her. We walk in silence until we come to a secluded wooded area next to a waterfall. My senses immediately go on red alert, not sure what's going on. "Steve…I would love nothing more than that," she finally says.

Relief starts to flood through me, until I see the almost pained look on her face. "Then what…"

"There's a reason that I didn't become a field agent like my parents and grandparents," she says, leaning against a nearby railing. I stand in front of her, crossing my arms over my chest. "There is a reason that I'm locked in an office almost all day that has security that could rival Fury's office. And I just…I don't want to drag you into that."

I try to keep my cool, taking a deep breath in and letting it out slowly. "Charlotte, I come with some baggage too," I say. "Remember last week? Or three weeks ago when I came out of a seventy year-"

"It's not the same as that Steve," she says, more authority in her voice than I had ever heard. I briefly see her hands start to shake before she wraps her arms around her waist, hiding them behind her back. _What was she talking about?_ "When we first met, I told you that I wasn't like other people, remember?" I nod my head. "Well, I downplayed what I'm capable of. Every single thing I encounter, whether I see it, hear, touch it, or even smell it, it is stored in my brain; able to be recalled in a second."

This was not where I was expecting this conversation to go to. "That doesn't seem-"

"No, you don't have the full story yet," she says, stopping me. "I told you there was an accident that caused it." She lets out sigh, rubbing her fingers over one of her temples. "When I was five years old, my parents took me on what they called a vacation in the Swiss Alps. What it really was, was a mission. The people they were after figured out where their command center was for the mission…the cabin where we were staying. I don't know if they knew I was in there or not…but regardless, they razed it. I was home alone," she stops for a moment and takes her fingers away from her temples and shuts her eyes, no doubt replaying the event in her mind. "I tried to take cover under the dining room table because I thought it was an earthquake. Something crushed the table though and I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, it looked like I was in a lab of some sort. There were all kinds of patches attached to my head. Something, though, in my five year old brain told me none of what was around me was good. I pulled the wires off and after a lot of hiding…found my way out of the building I was in. I walked for what seemed like…forever," she says, shaking her head. "Until I came to this little village. Once I was there, I found my way to the police station. There was already S.H.I.E.L.D. agent there, waiting for any news of me to turn up. Turns out my parents and Fury had half the agency out looking for me. Ever since I woke up in that lab, I'm able to remember everything."

"So did whoever had you in that lab make you that way or-"

"Yes, but no one can figure out how," she says. "I had sixty-seven different tests ran on me, and still do yearly, but nothing turns up. It may have been caused by me getting hit in the head…by something that happened in the lab…or a combination of both."

I nod my head as I look at Charlotte. She looked drained after telling me the story…but I had to know more. "Did they ever catch whoever took you?"

"Everyone but one person, the head scientist," she says. "It was, um, it was actually a former HYDRA scientist." My body turns to stone at the mention of the organization. "It wasn't HYDRA though…he was working independently. Agent Carter had eradicated all of HYDRA years before I was even born."

"How did you know it was-"

"There was a document sitting on the table that had the Red Skull symbol," she says. "Apparently he was trying to replicate some of the experiments his father had told him about when he worked for HYDRA."

"So a child of HYDRA experimented on you," I say. What she had just told me still didn't add with her saying she didn't want to drag me into anything. "I still don't get-"

"I remember every single thing, Steve," she says. She stands up straight again, looking me square in the eye. "I'm not allowed out in the field because I could be a liability. Technically, I don't even exist. Fury had all records of me ever existing wiped from every database in the world…because I can be a liability with everything I know. Plus, the fact that they never caught the head scientist… S.H.I.E.L.D. has no inkling of an idea where he's been the last twenty-one years. Me, even being a possibility of being a liability has gotten everyone I care about killed."

"Your parents?" I ask.

"And my grandparents," she says. A tear falls from one of her eyes as she looks away from me. "I just…I don't want to feel responsible for anyone else getting hurt."

"Charlotte," I say, taking a step closer to her. She starts to step away, but I gently grab her around the waist to keep her close to me. I wait until she's looking up at me to say anything. "I'm not going to get killed. I'm a little tougher to hurt than most. Charlotte," I say, cupping the side of her face with one of my hands. "Don't push me away, okay?"

She shuts her eyes, leaning into my hand a little. "Okay," she says quietly. "Okay." I release the side of her face and wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to me. She curls up against my chest, hooking one of her arms under my arm and holding onto my shoulder. It felt nice to have her curled against it…thinking about it, it was the first time I had ever held a woman like this. In that moment though, it dawned on me that I never wanted anyone else right here. We stay like that, just holding onto each other, until a chiming sound makes Charlotte jump. She pulls away from me a little and reaches into the pocket of her dress, pulling out her cell phone. "Um, it's Fury," she says, staring at the little screen. "That's weird, he said he wants to see me in his office."

"Why's that weird," I ask her.

She looks up at me as she takes a small step back. "Because he told me to bring you too."

oOoOo

 _Charlotte's Point of View_

I felt emotionally drained from telling Steve about my accident. I fully expected him to want to have nothing to do with me, but I should've also expected that he wouldn't back down. The elevator comes to a stop on the top floor at S.H.I.E.L.D., bringing us into Fury's office. Steve walks beside me as we near Maria Hill. "What's this all about Agent Hill?" I ask her.

"The Director will let you know," she simply says.

I nod my head as she lets us into Fury's office. I spot him standing over by a large window, staring out at the city below. "Director?" I say, capturing his attention. He turns around, giving us both a nod. "You wanted to see us?"

"I am reassigning you both," he says, getting right down to it. My body goes cold as I watch him grab a couple of folders off his desk.

"Sir?" Steve asks.

Fury stays quiet as he walks over to us and hands up each a folder. I quickly open mine up scanning the front page, spotting my new destination: _Triskelion – Washington, D.C._ I look up at Steve to see him reading his own folder. I start to worry about where he was going. Was Fury deliberately separating us? "Why am I-"

"After the attack on New York, this isn't the best place for you to be Captain," Fury says, cutting me off.

"I understand sir," Steve says, shutting his folder.

"And Dr. Litz," Fury says, finally looking at me. "The Smithsonian is interested in creating an exhibit about Captain Rogers. I thought you might be able to assist them, make sure they don't display _every_ detail about him." I nod my head, only wondering where Steve was being sent off to. "Also, the archives at the Triskelion are in dire need of your attention."

"Yes sir," I say, nodding my head.

"You both leave Friday," Fury says, turning away from us again and walking back towards the window. "Housing as already been set up, S.H.I.E.L.D. will assist you in your moves, and Dr. Litz everything from your office here, will be sent there…except for the archives of course." We both say our acknowledgment as we watch the back of his head. "If you have no further questions, you are dismissed."

"Yes sir," we both say before turning to leave the room. We walk out of his office in silence. Once we're down the hall a little ways, I grab Steve's elbow and pull him to a stop. "Where are you being sent to?"

A smile starts to form on his face. "D.C.," he says.

Relief floods through me as I go up on my toes and throw my arms around his neck. "Oh thank goodness," I say as I feel him wind his arms around my waist. I hug his neck tight while burying my face in his neck. "I really didn't want to think we were going to be living across the country from each other right after I spilled my deepest, darkest secret." A laugh rumbles through Steve as he lifts me off the ground, hugging me tight to him.


	7. Chapter 7

_Three Months Later_

"You were so cute as a child!" I say, looking back and forth between the two pictures in my hand. In each of them, was a young Steve. In one of them he was by himself, sitting at the bottom of some stairs. In the other, he was with a woman I assumed with his mother. "Adorable, just adorable. And…added bonus, these are seared in my brain forever."

"I had forgotten those even existed," Steve says from the stove. "Where did you get them?"

"The Smithsonian," I say, still looking at the pictures. Steve was attempting to make supper, spaghetti I think. I think it's actually going well. "S.H.I.E.L.D. sent them all of your personal effects-"

"I have personal effects?" he cuts me off.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," I say. "S.H.I.E.L.D. had to inspect them first, make sure HYDRA hadn't gotten to them first and messed with them. Then, they sent them to the Smithsonian and now that is what I have been doing every day for the past month…going through them, deciding what they can display and what they can't." I hold up the photos as he turns around to face me. "These were a no. These are too adorable for the world to see."

"I have personal effects?" he says again, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm sorry," I say. "Can I bring you what I've already sorted out and that make up for us not giving them to you right away?"

He lets out a sigh as he smiles at me finally. "That'll be fine," he says before turning back to the stove.

I pick up the pictures again, looking at them. "But I'm keeping this one of just you," I say, earning a couple laughs from Steve.

A little bit later, after we've finished eating the spaghetti Steve had made surprisingly well, he walks me home. My apartment just happens to only be three blocks away from his…Fury denied playing any part of that. "So, I told you my cooking wasn't that bad," Steve says.

"I stand corrected Captain Rogers," I say, giving his hand in mine a squeeze. "You are free to make me spaghetti any time you see fit."

Steve lets out another laugh. The sound was pleasing, I loved hearing him laugh. "Well, I'm glad," he says. As we continue to walk, we talk about our day, just like any other couple would. It was strange to think of Steve as that…but at the same time it felt right. Eventually, we make it to my apartment building and Steve walks me inside. "So," he says as we near my door. "You really liked my cooking?"

"Yes!" I say, lightly smacking his arm. "If I have to say it one more time, I'm never coming over again."

"Oh, so you're going to threaten me now, huh?" he says, quickly grabbing me around the waist and pulling me close. That was one thing I hadn't expected out of him…Steve was playful at times.

"Oh, I'd never dream of threatening you," I say, placing my hands on his chest. He quirks an eyebrow at me, thinking he'd won the spat. "I only make promises."

Instead of saying anything back, Steve ducks his head down, quickly pressing his lips to mine. My arms instinctively go around his neck, pulling him closer to me. Every kiss with Steve blew my mind; it was like our lips knew each other's better than we knew our own. After a minute, I pull away, breaking the kiss. I stare at Steve in a dream-like stupor, like I always did after we kissed. "I love you," he says. _Whoa, was I really dreaming?_

"Huh?" I say, not sure he had really just said what I thought he had said.

"I said, 'I love you, Charlotte,'" he repeats, his eyes never leaving mine.

My brain stops working in that moment. Luckily, my heart jumps in and takes over the reins. "I love you too."

 _Eight Months Later_

"You…are…trying…to…kill…me…" I huff out as I bend over, resting my hands on my knees. "You're…killing…me!"

"I am not trying to kill you," Steve says. "I'm actually trying to do the opposite."

"Running is…it's fine…I'll start running…whatever," I try and stand up, immediately grabbing my sides. Steve had this grand idea that we should start running together in the mornings. So, being the supportive girlfriend that I strive to be…I foolishly went along with it. Three miles later…I felt like I wanted to die. "But I am never…ever… _ever_ …running with you…again!"

"Oh come on," Steve says, holding his arms out to his sides. "It's not that bad-"

"Super soldier" I say, pointing at him and then turn my finger and point it at my chest. "Super nerd…I don't run. Not this much anyways." I wanted to smack Steve upside the back of the head for laughing at that moment. "I hate you so much right now." I turn and start walking back towards my apartment.

"Oh, now, come on," he says, jogging to catch up with me. "Look," he says, holding out an arm to stop me. "I'm sorry. If you don't want to run with me anymore, you don't have to."

I narrow my eyes at him as he just grins down at me. "Oh, you think you're just so cute don't you," I say, planting my hands on my hips. "You just think you can- hey now, don't you walk away from me Steve Rogers!" I start walking after him as he turns and starts walking down the street. He turns his head back to me and gives me a smirk before breaking out in a run. "Aaargh!" I groan as I start running after him.

 _October 2013_

I run through the halls of the hospital until I find the room Natasha had told me. I burst through the door and find her and Steve looking through a large glass window. Behind it, Fury lays on a table, a team operating on him. "What happened?" I say, grabbing onto Steve's arm for support.

"Someone tried to kill him," Steve says, his voice sounding strained. It's the only explanation he is able to give me. Suddenly, the team operating on Fury starts working frantically, machines beeping like crazy. We all watch the team in silence. Finally, we see the surgeon stop, look up at the clock, and then say those dreaded words: _Time of death…_

I can't help it, I start crying. Fury was our leader…he had helped keep me safe almost my entire life. What were we going to do now? Steve holds me in his arms as I cry; he doesn't say a word. Eventually, a nurse takes us to a different room where we can say our goodbyes to Fury. I can't bring myself to go up to his lifeless corpse though. "I need to talk to you," Maria Hill's voice says quietly in my ear. My mind was reeling. I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on. I look over my shoulder to see her standing right behind me. I nod my head at her before taking the few steps in front of me up to Steve.

"I'll be right back," I tell him. He nods his head as I go up on my toes and plant a kiss on his cheek. I turn back and follow Maria out of the room we were in and follow her down the hall. She doesn't stop though, continuing on through the hospital. Eventually, we walk out of a door, emerging into a back alley. "Agent Hill, what is going on?" I ask her.

"You're dead," she says, giving me a deadpan look.

"Excuse me," I say, staring at her wide eyed.

"Officially, you will die tonight, in a car accident on your way back to your apartment," she says.

"Agent Hill, what are you talking about?" I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. I had no clue what was going on in the world anymore.

"Director Fury gave me strict orders on what to do in the event of his death, pertaining to you," she says. "Now, I know that it will be hard, but I need you to go back in there, tell Rogers goodbye and then come back out here."

"No, Agent Hill…I- I can't do-"

"You have to Dr. Litz," she says. "Fury dying wasn't some freak accident. S.H.I.E.L.D. is being infiltrated by who knows. You are in extreme danger of being found with Fury gone."

"But I- I-…" I had no clue what to think. For the first time in my life, my brain wasn't working properly. How was I supposed to do this? "What am I supposed to say to him?"

"Just tell him that you're not feeling well from everything that's happened and that you're going to head home," she says.

"I know Steve though," I say, shaking my head. "If what you're saying is true…then he won't want me to go home alone."

"Then come up with something," Hill says, growing frustrated with me. "But be back here in fifteen minutes, okay?"

I nod my head as I wipe away the tears from under my eyes. Slowly, I make my way back to the room where Steve and Natasha still were. "Hey," I say, walking up to Steve and lacing his fingers through mine. "I need to talk to you."

He nods his head as we move further back in the room, away from Natasha. "I don't want you going home alone tonight," Steve says, wasting no time. "Fury came by my apartment before he was shot and told me-"

"Steve, stop," I say, placing a hand on his chest. "I know, Maria told me what happened. That's why," I take in a deep breath, hoping he'll buy my lie…and that I won't blow it. "That's why I'm going to go away."

"What? What do you-"

"I have a safe house I've never told you about," I say. "In case something like this ever happened."

"A safe house?" Steve says. I can't tell if he's buying my story or not.

"Yes," I say, nodding my head. "I'll go there tonight and stay there until this is all figured out. Until it's safe for me again."

Steve locks his eyes on mine, searching for something. "Are you sure?" he says.

I let out an internal sigh of relief, he bought it. "Yes, Fury helped set it up for me. Only he and I knew about it."

"Okay," he finally says. He takes my other hand, gathering both of them in his hands and holds them to his chest. "I'll call you when this is all over, okay?"

"Okay," I say, my voice growing thick. I hated what I was getting ready to put him through. I remove my hands from his and place them on either side of his face. "I love you, Steve," I say. Before he can respond, I pull his face down to mine, crushing our lips together. Tears start streaming down my face as our lips move in sync, in a way they never had before. I didn't know if I would ever see Steve again…or if I did, if he would ever trust me again. But I had no choice. I had to disappear. I finally break away from him, not waiting for him to say anything back, and make a bee-line for the door. Somehow, I find my way back out to the alley where Maria was waiting for me, but with a van there this time. I climb into the back of the black van and curl up onto the bench seat, crying my eyes out.

 _Steve's Point of View_

I barely hear the cell phone ring in my pocket. Pulling it out, I see it's Natasha calling me. I had hoped it would be Charlotte. "Nat?" I greet her.

"Rogers," she says. There's something about her tone that's off. "Where are you at right now?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D.," I tell her. I had to get my suit on to go out and hunt down whoever the mechanical armed man was.

"Are you near a TV?" she says, her tone sounding grave. I tell her I am as I walk over to a screen. She tells me to turn it to the local news. Once I find the station, it's flashing a news bulletin about a car crash on Interstate 66 near Arlington the night before. The anchor is saying that authorities identified the body found in the black S.U.V. that exploded as Dr. Charlotte Litz. "It's Charlotte, Steve."

"What?" I say, my body growing cold. "No…that's not-"

"I just confirmed it with Hill," she says. "She told me that Charlotte left in a S.H.I.E.L.D. issued vehicle. This very well could've been the same-"

"It's not her," I say, cutting her off. "I'll prove it." I hang up the phone with Natasha before she can say anything, quickly dialing Charlotte's number. It doesn't even ring, just goes straight to voicemail. _Hey, it's Charlotte. Sorry I missed your call. I'll get back to you as soon as I can…_

I stare at the phone in horror as the voicemail tone beeps. "No…"


	8. Chapter 8

"You know you're going to have to talk to me eventually," I hear Fury say. I look away from the spot on the wall that I had been staring at for the last two hours. The former director was staring at me across the room from his hospital bed. "You've been here two days. That's an awfully long time to go without talking."

 _If I talk, you aren't going to like what I say,_ I think to myself as I look away from him. I was beyond furious at him. Faking his death…making me fake my death…making me leave Steve…I wanted to gouge his good eye out.

"Agent Hill left about an hour ago," he says. I already knew that though. "She went to retrieve Rogers and Romanov." That, I didn't know.

"Steve?" It was the first word I had spoken since I arrived at this retched hide-out.

"Yes," Fury says, nodding his head. "He's coming here."

"Am I going to have to hide when he gets here?" I say bitterly. "Keep up the whole charade of me being dead?"

"No," he says. "You can see him when he gets here."

"Oh, well thank you sir. What an honor," I say, sarcasm and bitterness in every word. I knew Steve…the moment he saw me he'd feel betrayed.

"I will take full responsibility of what we made you do-"

"Yeah, you should," I snap at him. I had never been this mad before in my life. I wasn't sure Fury knew how to handle it.

"And I will," he says, some authority in his voice, warning me not to cut him off again. "Maybe faking your death wasn't the best choice, but I was working with what I knew at the time."

"What?" I say, standing up from my seat. "Did you think you couldn't trust Steve? Obviously you could if you went to him first after your crash!"

Fury just stares at me, not saying anything. "Hill should be back within an hour."

"Good for Hill," I say, turning to storm out of the room. I walk out of the room and down the hall, not really sure where I was going. Too many emotions were running through me at the moment. I was furious at Fury, furious at myself for agreeing to it, worried about Steve, worried what Steve would say when he saw me…I wasn't used to this. I hadn't felt like this since my parents had died.

"Dr. Litz," I hear my name being called down the hall. I turn and see Dr. Fine walking up to me.

"Hello Doctor," I greet him.

"I have a question for you," he says after greeting me. "I know you don't have your MD, but I wasn't wondering if you have any medical knowledge at all?"

"Some, yes," I say nodding my head. "I have the standard first aid training and I also read Gray's Anatomy. Why do you ask?"

"Agent Hill just phoned ahead and said they have wounded," he says.

My body grows cold as my heart rate spikes. "Do you know who-"

"She didn't say," he says, shaking his head. "But I may need your assistance when they come in. Can I count on you?"

"Um- yes, yes sir," I say. "I'll assist in whatever way I can."

He thanks me before turning to go check on Fury. I decide to just hang out in the hallway, not sure what to do. _Was Steve hurt? What happened? What have they been doing these last two days?_ I lean back against the nearby wall and slide myself down until I'm sitting on the ground. I stare at the wall opposite of me, escaping in my mind to a different time…

" _There's no way you're getting me on that death trap!" I say to Steve, talking about his motorcycle._

" _It's not a death trap," he says from the living room. I walk back into his living room and sit on the couch next to him. "Do you honestly think I would wreck-"_

" _They are called accidents for a reason," I say, cutting him off. "They happen when you least expect it and then your super-soldier butt walks away unscathed and I am roadkill. I'm not riding on it."_

" _I'll get you a helmet," he says, almost pleading. "We could have Stark design it."_

" _What? Have a full body protection suit pop out of it when we start to crash?" I say, raising an eyebrow at him._

" _Yeah," he says. "If that's what you want."_

 _I stare at him for a moment, as if I was considering it. "Not going to happen pretty boy," I say, picking up a pillow at stuffing it in his face. The puppy-dog eyes he was sending me almost changed my mind. "If we go somewhere, it's in my car…I'll even let you drive if it makes you feel better."_

 _Steve lets out a groan as he slides down on the couch, clearly frustrated by my stubbornness. "I barely even fit in your car!"_

"Dr. Litz," Dr. Fine's voice breaks me out of my reverie. I look up at him to see him extending a hand down towards me. "They just pulled up." He says as he helps me stand. I nod my head as I follow him down the hall. Ahead of us, I catch a group of people walking towards us.

"GSW to the shoulder," Maria's voice rings out through the tunnel. "She's lost a pint."

"Maybe two," an unfamiliar voice says.

"Let me take her," Dr. Fine says as he picks up his gait and starts to jog towards the group. I hang back, staying behind Dr. Fine so that the group couldn't see me.

"She'll want to see him first," Maria says. I see her lock eyes with me as they near us. I could tell she wasn't sure if I should be there or not.

"Anyone else hurt?" I speak up. The whole group stops what they're doing to look over Dr. Fine's shoulder at me. Two pairs of eyes stare at me in shocked confusion.

"No, we're good," the guy in the group I don't know says. I look at him, immediately recognizing him though.

"Okay," Dr. Fine says, pressing a gauze pad to the inside of Natasha's jacket. Natasha's hand replaces his as her, Steve, and Sam Wilson turn to follow Maria into the next room.

Me and Dr. Fine follow behind them as they walk into the room where Fury is laying in his bed. "About damn time," I hear Fury say. Natasha and Steve stare at him, probably wearing the same look they had when they saw me. Sam turns a little bit and looks at everyone in the room…he looked out of his element.

"Here," Dr. Fine says, stepping up to Natasha. "Let me take a look at that." She nods her head as she lets him lead her over to a table that has a few medical supplies on it.

I keep waiting for Steve to turn around and say something to me, or at least look at me, but he doesn't. I hang back, leaning on the back wall while Fury tells them everything that was wrong with him. "Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache."

"Don't forget your collapsed lung." Dr. Fine says, still holding pressure on Natasha's gunshot wound.

"Oh, let's not forget that." A hint of irony in Fury's voice. "Otherwise, I'm good."

"They cut you open, your heart stopped." Natasha says, still slightly confused.

"Tetrodotoxin B." Fury explains. "Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."

"Why all the secrecy?" Steve says. I could tell just by the tone of his voice he was angry…beyond angry. I also had a feeling that had something to do with me. "Why not just tell us?"

"Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful." Maria explains.

"Can't kill you if you're already dead." Fury says with a shrug. "Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust."

"Well what about you?" Natasha says, looking over at me. Everyone turns to look at me, even Steve, but I can't bring myself to look at him. "Your car blew up…how'd you escape unscathed?"

"There was never an accident," I explain, looking at only her. "I was brought directly here from the hospital after Fury died."

Natasha continues to stare at me. "But why would you-"

"That was my doing," Fury says, sitting up in his bed. I walk over to him, accidently bumping into Steve in the process. I help Fury sit up on the side of his bed as he explains. "If I ever had to go into hiding, Dr. Litz was under strict orders to go with me. Whether she wanted to or not."

I catch a glance of Sam looking around at everybody as I help Fury stand up. "But why would she have to-"

"Samuel Thomas Wilson. Born September 23, 1978. United States Air Force, serving two tours before becoming a pararescueman assigned to the 58th Rescue Squadron. You were chosen as a test pilot for the EXO-7 Falcon." I rattle off.

Sam stares at me, not sure what to say. "You got all that just from looking at me?"

"No," I say as I let go of Fury so he can stand on his own. "I got all that from glancing at your file two years ago."

"Dr. Litz has a brain anomaly that allows her to remember everything she's ever seen or encountered in her life," Maria explains further. "Making her a liability if the wrong people got ahold of her."

"Basically, I know too much for my own good," I say. "Not that I'd ever talk if I was ever-"

"Come on," Fury says, finally shifting the conversation away from me. "You all need to fill me in on what's happened."

Everyone moves to follow him to another part of the room. I don't follow immediately, waiting until Steve starts to walk by me. "Steve, I-"

"Not now," he says, cutting me off. He quickens his gait, walking ahead of past the heavy plastic curtain.

I swallow the lump in my throat as I walk past the curtain. Everyone was already sitting at the table. Sam, Steve, and Natasha start to fill Fury and hill in on what happened. After they're finished, Fury lets out a sigh, looking down at a picture of Alexander Pierce, the man who was now running S.H.I.E.L.D. and now HYDRA, which had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. "This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize." He says, throwing the picture across the table. "He said, 'Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility.' See, its stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop the launch." Natasha says, talking about the Project Insight carriers.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore." Fury says. He reaches in front of him and opens a case, revealing three chips inside. I had seen him tinkering with them the past couple days.

"What's that?" Sam asks as everyone looks at the chips.

"Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized." Maria says. She turns a laptop around so we can see a simulation of the carriers.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own." Fury says.

Maria turns the laptop back towards herself. "One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die."

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA." Fury says. "We need to get past them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left-"

"We're not salvaging anything." Steve says suddenly. "We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down S.H.I.E.L.D."

My mouth goes dry. "S.H.I.E.L.D. had nothing to do with it." Fury says, looking at Steve like he was crazy.

"You gave me this mission, this is how it ends." Steve says. He wasn't Steve at the moment though; he was Captain America. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been compromised, you've said so yourself. HYDRA was right under your nose and nobody noticed."

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave?" Fury says. "I noticed."

"And how many paid the price before you did?" Steve says. I could tell he was growing angry again.

"Look, I didn't know about Barnes." Fury says, shaking his head.

"Even if you had, would you have told me?" Steve says, stepping closer to the table. "Or would you have compartmentalized that too? S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, it all goes."

"He's right." Maria says. Fury snaps his head towards her, staring at her in shock.

Fury looks over at Natasha, who just stares at him, leaning back in her chair. He then looks up at Sam who shakes his head. "Don't look at me. I do what he does," he says, nodding towards Steve. "just slower."

Fury looks across the table at me, silently asking my opinion. I just shake my head. I didn't know what to say.

"Well..." Fury says, letting out a sigh and looking back up at Steve. "Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."

I stand up from the table as Maria and Natasha start talking plans on how to get into S.H.I.E.L.D. I walk out of the room and into the main hallway. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been my whole life since I turned eighteen. What was going to happen to me once it was gone? I didn't know anything else. What was I going- "What the-" someone had grabbed my elbow, pulling me along beside them. I look up, finding the source, Steve.

"We need to talk," he says between his teeth. I don't say anything as he leads me down the hall further, eventually veering us off into a make-shift bedroom. He not-too-gently releases me for a moment before grabbing my shoulders and backing me up until I'm pinned against the wall. He doesn't say anything, just stares at me, his nostrils flare with every breath. Then, suddenly, he crashes his lips to mine, fisting his hands into my hair. The rest of his body melts against mine, leaving me no room for escape…not that I wanted to. This, like our last kiss, was like none we had shared before. This one was charge by pure anger and passion. "Why?" he says after breaking the kiss. "Why did you do it?"

"I'm sorry," I say, tears starting to stream down my face. "I'm so sorry…I didn't have a choice."

"You always have choice," he says. He steps away from me and turns away. "You know if you were in any danger, I could've kept you safe."

"I know," I say. "But Fury-"

"But Fury nothing!" he says, turning back towards me. "Fury is the reason we're in this mess."

"This is all I've known Steve!" I yell at him. "If even a hint of threat arises, I hide. That's how it's been my whole life. I don't know anything else!"

"You know me," Steve says, his voice controlled. "I would've kept you safe. These past two days have been…" he shakes his head before looking at me again. "I don't ever want to go through that again."

I stare at him, looking into his eyes. "I'm so sorry Steve," I say again, hanging my head. I feel him wrap his arms around my shoulder, holding me to his chest.


	9. Chapter 9

"Agent Hill?" I say, walking up behind her.

She turns around to look at me, holstering her gun she had been checking. "Just Maria or Hill will do now," she says, giving me a smirk. "Not really an agent anymore."

"Oh," I say, nodding my head. "Okay. I have a favor to ask you though."

"What's up?" she says, leaning back on the table.

"I want to go with you all to the Triskelion to take down HYDRA," I say, looking her square in the eye. The thought had crossed my mind once…but after my talk with Steve, my mind was set.

Maria starts to shake her head. "I don't know if that's such a good-"

"I want to go Maria," I say. "I think I deserve to go."

"Have you even shot a gun before?" she says. She stands up and starts to walk towards me. "You have no field training Dr. Litz. I don't think it's such a good idea. Have you asked Rogers about it?"

"No," I say. After our talk, Steve had gone to get cleaned up and I came straight here. "It's not like I'm asking to take down Pierce myself. I know that building and every nook and crany in it like the back of my hand. You don't even realize how valuable I could be."

"You could also be a liability," she says. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has always-"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone," I snap at her. "Or at least it will be. And I'm not going to just sit here while everyone else goes off to save the day. Now, either you say I can go or you'll have to tie me up."

Maria stares at me for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Rogers might not be too happy about this," she says, admitting defeat.

"Well, we'll just add it to the list," I say, giving her a smirk.

She lets out another sigh, motioning for me to follow her. "I should have a suit for you to wear," she says as we make our way out into the hallway. "Might be a little long on you in the legs though."

oOoOo

"I don't like it," Natasha says, shaking her head.

"Me neither," Fury agrees.

"Told you they'd be pissed," Maria says.

"And I said I don't care," I say. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has protected me my whole life. If anyone has a right to help take it down, it's me."

"You have no field experience Litz," Natasha says, taking a step towards me. "Do you even know how to operate a gun?"

I nod my head. "I read a book on them one time," I say. Natasha starts to argue until I cut her off. "I received training on how to use one when I first started with S.H.I.E.L.D. Do you honestly think I'd go out there with no knowledge of how to fire a weapon?" She shuts her and mouth and doesn't say anything. "Look, I've been locked in the archives of S.H.I.E.L.D. since the day I got my first Ph.D., that's nine years that I've just sat around and let everyone else handle all the crap that has been going on in the world and I'm sick of it."

Nobody says anything, just looks around the room uncomfortably. I look over at Steve who is just staring at me. A blank look on his face. "What do you think Cap?" Maria asks him. "You're awfully quiet over there."

Steve continues to stare at me, and I stare back at him. He had to understand where I was coming from. "You told her it was okay with you if she goes, Hill?" Maria quietly tells him yes. "Well, Charlotte sounds like your mind is made up," he says, continuing to look at me. "You stay with Hill though. You understand?"

"Yes," I say, nodding my head. Everyone else disperses a little ways as I walk up to Steve. "Should I apologize or thank you first?"

He takes a deep breath as he sits down on the edge of the table behind him. I step forward, in between his legs as a corner of his mouth quirks up. "How about we live through this…then we'll decide, okay?"

"Okay," I say. I lean forward and plant a quick kiss on his lips. "I may have present for you though…"

"Oh yeah?" he says. "What's that?"

I look him up and down, smoothing out his jacket over his chest. "Well…you are going to need a suit and I just so happen to have access to one…"

oOoOo

"Excuse us," Steve says to the guy who opened the door. He quickly steps aside, letting us into the room. Steve, Maria, and Sam are able to clear it out quickly, leaving just us four in the control room. "Okay, you two will stay here," Steve says, looking at me and Maria.

"Switch the targets when our chips go live," Maria finishes for him.

"Alright," he says, nodding his head. "Time to expose the monster." We all stand back as he steps up to an intercom to speak to the whole Triskelion. "Attention, all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The S.T.R.I.K.E. and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot the Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

"Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?" Sam says, stepping up closer to Steve.

Steve ignores him and turns to me. He looks at me for a moment before ducking down and planting a quick kiss on my cheek. "Stay safe," he whispers in my ear. "Let's go," he says to Wilson. They both turn towards the door and leave.

I stare after them as I hear Maria let out a quiet groan. "Please don't tell me letting you come was going to be a bad choice," she says, clicking on different things on the screen.

"No," I say, shaking my head. "I'm good.

oOoOo

"Charlie Carrier's forty-five degrees off the port bow," Maria says, looking at one of the screens. As she turns her head to look at a different one, the screen in front of me catches my eye. On it, I see two HYDRA agents trying to break into the room we were in. Without even thinking about it, I grab the gun I had holstered on my hip while rolling my chair back. I fire off two rounds, hitting both the agents and taking them down with ease. Maria turns around to face me, shock on her face. "Did you just-"

"Yep," I say, rolling back to the desk. I look at the timer for the carriers to start firing. "You got six minutes Steve."

oOoOo

"Charlie locked." Steve's voice says finally. On the screen in front of us, all the targets disappear.

Maria makes quick work of locking in the new targets: the carriers. "Okay, Cap, get out of there."

"Fire now." Steve says.

I look over at Maria who stares back at me. We both knew what that meant. "But, Steve..." I say, pleading in my voice.

"Do it!" Steve yells back at us. "Do it now!"

I watch Maria as she purses her lips together and then pushes the fire button before I can even say anything. "Maria! No!"

"He gave an order," she says back to me. I could tell she didn't want to do it. "You know him, he'll be fine. Now come on, Natasha and Fury are circling back to get us."

oOoOo

 _He's got to be okay, he's going to be okay, he's got to be okay…_ It had been almost an hour since the last helicarrier went down and no one had seen or heard from Steve. Sam and Maria had taken me to the hospital where we were waiting on word of Steve, and for Natasha to get checked out after electrocuting herself. "Hey," Sam says, bumping my leg. I break out of my reverie to find him looking at me. "Heard you took down two guys on your own?" I nod my head weakly as he extends a fist towards me. Despite my mood, I grin a little as I bump my fist against his. "Pretty badass."

"Versus how many you and Steve took down?" I say, raising an eyebrow at him. "But thanks for trying to make me feel better." He gives the side of my leg another tap before crossing his arms over his chest. I shut my eyes, trying to take my mind anywhere but where it was trying to go. I start rereading my textbook from sophomore year about ancient civilizations in my mind to distract myself. It's a good technique that works…until Maria tells me that Natasha was walking up to us. I open my eyes and see her staring right at me.

"They found him," she says as she approaches me. I stand up and start rattling off questions, but she stops me. "Okay, stop and listen." I shut my mouth with a snap and just stare at her, desperate for information and Steve. "They found him on the bank of the Potomac, no sign of the Winter Soldier. He's pretty banged up, but they think he'll live."

"When can I see him?" I ask her.

"They're doing some work on him right now and then you can go in and see him," she says, giving me a small smile. "You did well today, I heard."

"Thank you," I say, sitting back down next to Sam.

"But not good enough," she says, kicking my foot. "If you want to be out in the field."

I stare up at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she says. "Tomorrow morning you start training…with me."

oOoOo

 _One Week Later_

"Did he pick this out himself?" I say, staring down at Fury's tombstone.

I look up at Steve, standing next to me, as he shrugs his shoulders. "I think Hill did actually."

"So, you've experienced this sort of thing before?" We hear behind us. I glance over my shoulder to see Fury walking up to us. He looked weird without his eyepatch, wearing large sunglasses instead.

"You get used to it." Steve says, shrugging his shoulders again.

"We've been data-mining HYDRA's files. Looks Like a lot of rats didn't go down with the ship." Fury says, turning to look at Steve. "I'm heading to Europe tonight, wanted to ask if you'd come."

"There's something I gotta do first." Steve says, finally looking up from the tombstone.

"How about you, Wilson?" Fury asks Sam, who's standing on the other side of me. "I could use a man with your abilities."

Sam shakes his head. "I'm more of a soldier than a spy."

"Alright then." Fury says, nodding his head.

"Nah, don't worry Nick," I say, waving a hand towards him. "I'm not interested in going either. Thanks for asking though."

"I think Natasha would have my hide if I took you from your training," he says, raising an eyebrow at me. At least my comment earned me a chuckle from Steve. "Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me right here." Fury looks down at his tombstone one last time before walking away.

As he walks away, Natasha walks up to us. "He's right," she says, looking at me. "By the way, gym in an hour." I let out a groan as she comes to a stop beside us. Natasha had been training me every day for the past week…it hurt just to stand. "You should be honored, that's about as close as he gets to saying thank you."

"Not going with him?" Steve asks her.

She shakes her head at him. "No."

"Not staying here?"

"I blew all my covers, I gotta go figure out a new one." She says with a shrug.

"That might take a while." Steve tells her.

"I'm counting on it." She says, giving him a smirk.

"What about our training?" I ask her.

"I'm turning the reigns over to Wilson," she says, gesturing to the man standing behind me. "I've laid down the ground work, now he can whip you into shape."

"Oh, we're gonna have fun," I turn around to see Sam smirking at me.

"That thing you asked for, I called in a few favors from Kiev." I turn back to see Natasha handing Steve a file. Inside is information about the Winter Solider, Bucky. "Be careful, Steve. You might not want to pull on that thread."

Steve shuts the file as Natasha walks away from us. I would have to get the file from him later to look over it. "You're going after him?" Sam says as we turn back to face him.

"You don't have to come with me." Steve tells him.

"I know." Sam nods his head, looks away for a moment, and then looks back at Steve. "When do we start?"

Steve tucks the file under his arm as he gives Sam a small smile. "Tomorrow," he says. "Today…I think we've all earned a day off."

Sam nods his head as I cross my arms over my chest. "Yeah…you two get a day off," I say, turning to start back towards the car. "I get to go get my butt kicked by Natasha for the next three hours…"

oOoOo

I lay on the floor, breathing harder than I ever had in my life. "We done?" I pant, looking up at Natasha who was standing over me.

"Hhhhmm," she says, pretending to decide. "Yeah, we're good for the day." She holds out a hand, grabbing onto mine to help me up.

"Oh gosh," I say, doubling over as soon as I stand up. "I really hate you."

"Yeah, I know," she says, no doubt rolling her eyes at me. "Oh, and you have a visitor."

I lift my head up in time to see Fury walking out of the shadows towards me. "What in the world…" I mumble. "I thought you were leaving," I say to him as he steps onto the mat.

"After we're done here, I'm in the wind," he says.

"What do you want?" I ask him, standing up straight. I glance around the room to see Natasha has disappeared.

"So, you want to work out in the field now?" he says.

"Well…since S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't existed anymore," I say, shrugging my shoulder. "I really can't, can I?"

"Then why the training?"

"First, Natasha didn't really give me a choice," I say, pulling off my fighting gloves. "And second…self-defense? I don't have S.H.I.E.L.D. to look out for me anymore…and I don't want to put all that on Steve so…here I am," I say, holding out my arms. "Willingly let the Black Widow kick my butt."

"What if I have favor to ask you?" he says, leaning back a little bit as if to read me. "Would you be willing?"

"Depends…"

"What else are you going to do?" Fury says, an eyebrow popping over the rim of his sunglasses.

I stare at him for a minute, mainly trying to calm my breathing down. "Fine…what do you need me to do?"

oOoOo

"Where are you going?" Steve says again. I walk out of my bathroom, throwing the shampoo and conditioner bottles into my duffel bag on my bed.

"Fury asked me to check on this old building of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s," I say, sitting down on the bed to look at him.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" he raises an eyebrow at me, confirming my suspicion that he wasn't too thrilled about this. "You mean the agency that we took down a week and a half ago?"

"It's not…not really S.H.I.E.L.D.," I say. "Look Steve, I-"

"I don't like it," he says, crossing his arms over his chest. "I definitely don't like the idea that Fury asked you to do it and I don't like that you're going on your own." I just stare at him as he looks at me, his nostrils starting to flare a little bit.

"Steve, please, just hear me out okay," I stand up and walk up to him. "S.H.I.E.L.D. was the only thing I had, okay? More exactly, my archives were the only thing I had. Maria said most of them are under HYDRA control now…I have nothing."

"You have me," he says softly.

"I know," I say, giving him a small smile. "I know I do. But you have the Avengers and finding Bucky. I'm sorry, but I don't want to just be sitting around, waiting on you to get home."

He lets out a sigh as he leans back against the door frame again. "I know, I don't expect you to either," he says. I step forward towards him and wrap my arms around his waist, resting my head on his chest. "I just worry about you."

"Like I don't worry about you," I say as he rubs his hand up and down my back.

"Can you at least tell me where you're going?" he asks.

I shake my head against his chest. "It shouldn't take too long. Week at most."

"You know you'll have to call me every day," he says with a sigh.

I smile against his chest and I hug myself tighter to him. "I know."


	10. Chapter 10

"It's got to be around here somewhere…" I mumble to myself. Currently, I was trekking through the woods, trying to find the spot Fury asked me to. "They did too good of a job hiding-" My phone ringing cuts off my tirade to myself. I pull it out of my pocket, seeing its Steve calling. "Hello there," I say, answering the phone.

"Hey, you didn't call this morning," he says. "I was starting to get worried about you."

"I know," I say, looking at my watch. It was almost 1400. "I'm sorry. I'm almost there and I just wanted to get a head start. I got in a rush and just forgot."

"It's alright," he says. "At least you answered."

"And if I hadn't?" I say, starting to walk again.

"Well…I don't know since you won't tell me where you are," Steve says. He had begrudgingly let me leave, still frustrated that I wouldn't tell him where I was going to or at least take him with me.

"Believe it or not," I say, looking down at the compass in my free hand. "I'm not exactly sure where I am either."

"Charlotte…"

"I'm fine Steve," I say. "I promise. I'm just…in the middle of the woods…somewhere."

"Are you at least in the country?" he asks.

"I think I am," I say, looking around. "Yeah…I'm like ninety percent positive I am."

"Good," he says. I hear him let out a sigh, no doubt running a hand over his face. "I just wish you would've let me come with you."

"I know," I say, letting out my own sigh. "But Fury wants as few people to know about this as possible." As I step around a tree, I see the marker I was looking for. "Steve, I got to let you go. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" Steve hesitantly tells me goodbye before I stuff the phone back into my pocket.

I walk the fifty steps northwest of the marker, like the instructions say, and smile to myself when I hear the sound of my boots stepping onto hollow metal. "Thank you Agent Carter," I say to myself. Bending down, I clear away the dirt, leaves, and moss to reveal a large metal door. It opens with a groan and thud against the earth. I take out a flashlight and shine it down the hole, meeting only darkness. "Fury, I will haunt you in the afterlife if I don't come back out of this hole."

I climb down the ladder along the wall of the hole. Once I reach the bottom, I turn the flashlight back on and look around. In the little light the flashlight offers, I spot a keypad and a door. I quickly figured out one of the reasons Fury asked me to do this. I didn't have to carry a map or any of the files any other person would. I immediately had everything memorized, so if I was caught…they'd have no clue where I was heading. So, walking up to the keypad, I type in the code with ease. I let out a sigh of relief when the locks click open on the door. Opening the door, I hesitantly step through the door into the darkness. I shine the flashlight around, the beam of light passing over a few glass windows, metals doors, bricks walls, finally landing on an SSR emblem painted on the wall next to me.

oOoOo

"Dr. Litz?" I hear echoing down the hall. I stop sorting through the papers on the desk in front of me and stand up, making my way towards the door. "It's Billy Koenig. Former Director Fury sent me?"

I open the door with a sigh and see the short, portly man wandering down the hall, already past the room I was in. "Over here," I shout down to him. He turns around, a surprised look on his face. "Nice to see you." I step out of the room and walk down the hallway towards him, meeting him with a handshake. "And just Charlotte will do."

"Lovely to meet you," he says. "So, did Fury tell you what this will be used for?"

"You've met Nick before…right?" Billy nods his head as we start walking down the hall. "Well, then you know he didn't."

"Okay, well," he says, clapping his hands together and then rubbing them together. "We've got some work to do."

"Work to do?"

"The people who are going to be using this facility," Billy says. "They'll be here in at least thirty six hours. So, we've got to at least get this place-"

"I thought he just wanted me to make sure HYDRA hadn't gotten to the building," I say. "Sorry, didn't mean to cut you off, but dang…do the secrets never stop with him?"

"Yes, well…" he says. I had a feeling I had made him uncomfortable. He obviously was the type of person who thought the people in charge could do no wrong. "Like I said, we've got some work to do."

oOoOo

 _Thirty Six Hours Later_

As I walk into the hangar, the doors…or really the ceiling opens. "Is this the group that will be using the facility," I say, walking up to stand next to Billy.

"It is," he says, a too big smile on his face. I could tell he lived for this kind of thing. We stand there as a large…well, that word was an understatement…plane descends into the hangar. Once it's on the ground and the sounds of the engines stop, the back of the plane starts to open.

"I don't know," I hear a familiar voice say. I look over at Billy…the owner of that voice was supposed to be dead. "I found the coordinates in Fury's toolbox. Another secret base?" The group of people standing inside the plane don't notice me and Billy standing there, until the latter speaks up.

"I call it the Playground actually," Billy says, capturing everyone's attentions. Looks of shock crosses everyone's face as they stare at him. A shocked look crosses my face when I see Phil Coulson standing there…alive. "Although, technically it doesn't have a name because technically it doesn't exist."

"Eric?" Melinda May says.

"Billy, actually, Billy Koenig, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.," he holds up the lanyard card around his neck, showing it to them. "Eric passed away, sadly. But it'll be great to have to some company. We," he says, motioning towards me. "Did not mind minding this place."

Coulson nods his head as he takes a step towards us. "Agent Coulson."

Billy runs up the ramp towards him, taking Phil's hand into his. "I know, I know," he says. "It's an honor to meet you sir. I'll get your lanyard shortly. For the rest of you, lanyards will be handed out on a case-by-case basis. Can't be too careful with all those HYDRA threats out there still causing trouble. That's why we're here," he says, motioning towards me again. "Get you up and running, back to fighting the good fight. Which is going to be cool."

"Wait, wait, wait," I say, gaining everyone's attention. "Up and running on what?"

"We're rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D., Dr. Litz," Phil says, stepping around Billy. "It's nice to see you again."

I look Phil up and down, crossing my arms over my chest. "Last I heard and saw of you…you were dead," I say. "I'm guessing that's a story for later though."

"And who are you," one person I don't recognize says. The group starts to walk down towards us.

"I'm Dr. Charlotte Litz," I say. "I was the Historical Specialist of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"And she discovered this place and opened it for us," Billy says. "We don't have much, but what we do have is yours, Director."

"If you want, I can show you all around," I say. "We've been working the past couple days to bring the place up to speed. There are still some major modifications that need to be done, but the place will be a good home base."

"Thank you, Dr. Litz," Phil says. The group starts to follow me towards the door, Phil moving up to walk beside me. "So, Fury sent you?"

I nod my head. "Yes, I think he felt somewhat guilty," I say. Suddenly, I shake my head. "Hold on now, we are not straying from the big elephant in the room. How are you here? What happened to you?"

"Me?" Coulson says, trying to convey a confused look on his face. "What happened to you? I thought you didn't do field work?"

"If you must know," I say, let out a frustrated sigh. I could tell Phil wasn't going to give up his story easily. "Long story short, HYDRA and Steve Rogers happened to me."

"T.A.H.I.T.I., happened to me," Phil says. I stare at him in shock, partly because he actually told me and because of what it meant.

"Fury used it on you?"

"You know about it?" Phil says back, giving me a genuine confused look this time.

"Um, girl who can't forget stuff," I say, pointing at my head. "Where do you think they got the brain mapping for the project?"

"Huh," Phil says, staring off ahead of us. "Makes sense I guess."

"So…Fury gave you the toolbox?" I say after we've walked a little further. As we walk, I point out different areas to Coulson's team.

"How do you know about-" Coulson stops. "Never mind, forget I was about to ask that."

I let out a laugh as we walk up a flight of stairs. "Why do you think Fury kept me under such tight lock down?" I say. "There's probably stuff I know that he doesn't know that I know. Which…I know he knows that."

"So are like, some sort of super genius?" I hear from the group behind us. I stop and turn around, staring down the flight of stairs at the source of the voice.

There was something familiar about the features under his dark brown skin, something I couldn't place. "Close, who are you," I say. "I know everyone I've ever seen but I can't remember you…there's something familiar…" The guy shakes his head, shrugging his shoulders.

"Agent Triplett's grandfather was a Howling Commando," Coulson answers.

"That's it!" I say, snapping my fingers. Triplett flinches back a little, probably because of the sound my voice had reached. "You're Gabe's grandson, Antoine!"

"You knew my grandfather?" he asks, arching an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah," I say, turning back around to lead the group up the stairs once again. "Only got to meet him once. Awesome guy…funny as all get out. Whew, the stories he told!"

"Dr. Litz has a gifted mind," Coulson explains to the group who were probably wary of me. "She remembers every single detail of anything she's ever encountered in her life. Instant recall."

"You're the Mind Ghost!" I hear someone else say. I stop once again, turning around to see Dr. Jemma Simmons smiling at me. I recognized the young doctor immediately. She was a super genius in her own right.

"Excuse me?" I say, arching an eyebrow at her. It was my turn to be confused. "I'm the what?"

"The Mind Ghost," she says, her British accent making the name sound a lot cooler than what I was thinking of it. "At the Academy there are rumors, urban legends really, of a girl who remembered everything she's ever seen with instant recall that worked at S.H.I.E.L.D. Of course no one actually believed them because we all thought that was physically impossible."

"Huh," I say, staring at her for a moment. I nod my head slowly as I turn around once again. Out of the corner of my eye I see Phil trying to hold back a smile. "Mind Ghost…I like it…"

oOoOo

My stay at the Playground was short lived. I helped the team get settled in and then started to head for home. Partly because more people were showing up to help out Phil and I couldn't have them knowing about me. But as sad as it sounds…I really just missed Steve. "I am in Tennessee," I say to him over the phone.

"Well…that's still quite a ways away from New York," he says. While I was gone, Tony Stark had offered up a room to Steve at the newly renovated Stark Tower. Seeing as how Steve's apartment in D.C. was full of bullet holes and HYDRA bugs.

"About two day's trip," I say, taking the receipt from the hotel clerk. "I'm going to grab a few hours of shut eye and then head out in the morning."

"It could be less than two days," Steve says. "I bet I could talk Stark into sending a-"

"I am going to stop you right there," I say, heading towards the elevators. "I appreciate the gesture…but if that were to happen Stark would never, ever let you or I live it down."

Steve lets out a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. "He's already giving me a hard time about having Hill help me trace your phone."

I grumble at that. A couple days before Steve had come clean about his tech spying on me. "Don't remind me of that," I say. "Hey, I'm getting ready to get on the elevator so I'll probably lose reception. I'll call you back in a bit." We exchanges short goodbyes before I slide the cell into the pocket of my jacket. I wait another moment before the elevator finally arrives. The gold doors slide open, revealing a gaggle of people on the cart. I wait patiently as they all leave the cart, mindlessly looking at their faces. One face in particular stands out to me. It pays me no mind though, walking on through the lobby and out the front door. I had seen the face before, this would be the third time. The first time, I didn't think anything of it. The second…I chalked it up to happy coincidence. This time though, seeing him sent an unwelcoming chill down my spine. Hurriedly, I scramble onto the elevator and push the button for my floor. Once I'm off the elevator, I all but run to my room, locking every lock on the door and pushing a chair under the door handle for good measure. I grab my phone out of my pocket and dial Steve's number again. "Steve?" I say once he's answered.

"What's wrong?" Even hundreds of miles away he could tell something was wrong, just by the sound of my voice. I quickly explain what was going on, seeing the guy for a third time. "I'm going to talk to Stark, now."

"Yeah," I say, pulling my gun out of my bag, holding it in a shaking hand. "I think I'll take that jet back home now."


	11. Chapter 11

"Do any of these look like the guy?" I continue to absentmindedly swipe through the list of people Hill had compiled for me. I was barely looking at them, but I knew none of them would be him.

"Just like a couple days ago…nope," I say, finally reaching the last one. I close out of the program, the airborne screen disappearing. "None of them were him."

"And you had never seen that man before," she asks again. She had already asked me that, naturally, but the answer was always the same.

I let out a groan, rubbing the heel of my hands into my forehead. "He was familiar," I say. "But not just because he was following me. I know I know him…I just can't remember him."

"Frustrating?" she asks. I nod my head like a pouting child. "Welcome to everyone else's struggle."

"How do you all do it?" I say, earning a chuckle from Maria. "This is making me miserable."

"I know," she says. She lets out a sigh as she holds her tablet closer to her chest. "I'll try and run through some more databases; see if I can't find anyone else that matches your description."

I tell her thanks as she walks out of the lab. "JARVIS?" I say into the air to Tony Stark's system.

"Yes, Dr. Litz," the cool voice says back.

"Can you possibly tell me where Captain Rogers is?" I ask. I felt so silly talking to the air. I still was not keen on technology at all, but I was actually getting used to JARVIS…I think it was the accent.

"Yes," it responds. "Captain Rogers is with Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner in the testing center. I believe they are testing a new suit."

"Thank you," I say, starting to make my way out of the lab. After Steve and Tony had picked me up in Tennessee, Steve had all but forced me to (temporarily according to me) move into Stark Tower, where he had also taken up residence while I was gone. After the whole incident at the Triskelion, his apartment in DC just wasn't livable anymore. So, he had taken up residence in the newly renovated Stark tower, also making it easier for him and the rest of the Avengers to take down the rest of HYDRA. I say I'm there temporarily because I quickly found out I can't stand Tony Stark.

"Aw, Sourpuss has graced us with her presence," I hear as into the testing center. I resist the urge to roll my eyes as I coolly ignore Tony. Steve's head turns towards me, giving me a weird mixture of an apologetic yet happy to see me look. I sit down on a bench against the wall as Dr. Banner gives me a small wave. "What? Nothing?" Tony says, not satisfied by me ignoring him. "I know what your problem is Sourpuss," I keep ignoring him, only looking at Steve. I didn't even know where Tony was in the room. Steve and Bruce where putting away some sort of machinery. "You don't ever smile. I flew all the way out to middle-of-no-where Tennessee to get up, out of the goodness of my heart and for the comfort of my teammate and you-"

"We're done here, right guys?" Steve says, cutting Tony off. Tony lets out a groan, muttering something about me before his voice fades away. Bruce excuses himself as well as Steve stands across the room, looking at me. Once we're alone in the room, he takes a deep breath and lets it out as he smiles at me. "Hey."

"I can't stand him," I say, slapping my hands down onto my thigh. I hear Steve let out an audible sigh as he walks over to me. "I try and I try and I try to get along with him…and I just can't!"

"I know," he says as he sits down next to me. "I know, I'm sorry."

"You should be sorry," I say, laying my head against his arm. "Making me stay here and all." I wasn't really blaming Steve for my disliking of Tony. I knew he was just being protective, having me stay here. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be blaming this on you."

Steve doesn't say anything as he wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. "Did you have any luck with the list Hill got for you?"

"No," I say, turning sour again. "I know I've seen that guy before…I just can't think of where…" I comb through my mind, trying to place his face with a name, but coming up empty. "I might have a theory though…"

"What's that?" Steve asks.

"It's just something I came up with while I was looking through this last list…" I say. "What if…what if the guy was the scientist that kidnapped me when I was a kid?"

Steve nods his head as he unwraps his arm from my shoulder. We both turn on the bench so that we're facing each other. "That would make sense, since HYDRA is now out in the open now," he says.

"And since I don't have S.H.I.E.L.D. covering me anymore." I say. "I have a favor to ask you though…" He asks what it is with some hesitation. "Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. here in New York I had a box of files pertaining to me in my archives-"

Steve immediately starts shaking his head. "No," he says. "You are not going back there-"

"Well I don't expect to go alone-"

"Even if I went with you I still don't like-"

"What do you want me to do Steve?" I yell at him. It was the first time I had ever yelled at him and I didn't like it. "I'm sorry…but what else can we do? Keep letting Hill dig up pictures of random men? Or get the box of files on me and see if anything is in there?"

He stares at me for a moment. I could tell he knew I was right…but still did not want me going to the old headquarters. I knew that there were no HYDRA there…Phil had kept me updated and let me know that some former S.H.I.E.L.D agents had recaptured the building. Of course…Steve did not know that because he didn't even know Phil was alive. "I'll see if Tony is up for going," he says as he stands up from the bench. I just nod my head, knowing this was about as good as I was going to get out of him.

"Okay," I say. "I'll draw a map where the box is located. I assume you'll go with him?" Steve nods his head as I also stand up. "Okay, when you get back…there's somewhere I want to take you."

oOoOo

"Where are you taking me?" Steve says as we walk down the sidewalk. We were in an old, mainly abandoned part of Brooklyn.

"I'm surprised this isn't looking familiar yet," I say, smiling a little to myself. I had been waiting for a good time to bring him here. Now, seemed like a better time than any. "You'll start to recognize it soon, I'm sure." He keeps quiet as we continue down the sidewalk. Eventually we come to an abandoned store front, the letters all but faded from the sign, windows boarded up with plywood. "Anything yet?"

"Yeah, it's…ringing a bell…" he says, staring intently at the store front. I step up to the door, unlocking it with a set of keys I had on me. We walk inside the building, the only light coming from the open doorway. Towards the back, I find an old switch, flicking the old lighting to life. "Is this…"

Steve looks around the room in shock. "Follow me," I say. His face turns to stone as he shuts the door behind him and walks over to me at the back of the room. In the back room of the store, I find the false-front book cases and pull them open. They stick a little bit, so Steve has to help me. On the other side, the old SSR lab sits in silence. "When I first started at S.H.I.E.L.D.," I say as we walk into the hidden room. "One of my first tasks was to find all the old SSR headquarters and labs. This was the first one I found. Only I, Fury, and Phil Coulson knew it was still here. I thought Coulson was going to start crying when I first brought him here," I stop myself, momentarily forgotten Steve was still under the impression Phil was dead. "Anyways, I tried my best to clean it up, keep as many rats out as I could. So, does it look any different?"

I look up at Steve who was staring down at the lab below us. The lab where he became a super soldier. I watch him as he turns and slowly starts to make his way down the stairs. "I didn't think this place would've still been…"

Following him down the stairs, I continue to watch him as he makes his way to the center of the room. The pod that turned him into the man he is today still sitting in the middle of the room. A good portion of the machinery that was used that day back in 1943 were gone, tucked away in some Stark Industries warehouse, but the pod was still there. "After that day, they shut this place up," I say as Steve looks around the room. "It stood deserted for almost sixty-two years. It was amazing when I found it," I say, a small smile coming to my face. "Even the broken glass from the HYDRA explosion was still laying on the ground." I leave out the part about the bloodstain on the ground from Erksine. "Stark Industries took what machinery they thought would be useful to them. Everything else…was mine, or rather, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. I was hoping HYDRA hadn't gotten to it."

"This is…" he says, still looking around the room. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

oOoOo

"So, all of Sourpuss's deep dark secrets…confined to one box," Tony says as he saunters up the stairs into the lab. I roll my eyes. "Not going to find any naughty pictures in there, are we?"

"Tony, please do so kindly as to shut up," I say, pulling the box towards me.

"I just have one question," Dr. Banner says. I look over the box at him, across the table from me. "If you've seen all the stuff in this box…why do you need to look at it again?"

"Yeah," Tony says. "Where's your super-duper memory at?"

I turn my head, seeing him leaning against the table a little too close to me, and give him a deadpan look. "The 'super-duper memory' would definitely be a plus right now if I had actually seen the stuff that's in this box," I say. "But, I've never looked at it."

"Why not?" Steve asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "Didn't need to…didn't really want to," I say. "Fury let me have it for safe keeping. None of this was put into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s databases, these are the only copies."

I pull the lid off the box and pull the first file out; it was the results of my last round of tests. I set it aside, someone else picking it up, and continue to pull the files out until I reach the very bottom one. Inside, on the first page, I read the report detailing when they found me. _"The child, Charlotte Litz, was found at the Segovian Police department by Agent Barker. The child appeared to be in good health, save for some minor frostbite on her feet, most likely acquired when she escaped her captors…"_ I skim through the rest of the page, detailing every little scrape and frostbite spot on me. Finally, I get to wait I was looking for. _"Upon further testing, Miss Litz was found to have heightened brain activity. Further various testing revealed an increased capacity for memorization. Test conclude only time will tell how increased the capacity is._

 _Upon returning to the site where Miss Litz told Agent Barker she woke at, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents discovered that the lab had been deserted, most likely before Miss Litz awoke. Further investigation into the site where Miss Litz was held revealed documents referring to HYDRA experimentation. Tests so far have been inconclusive if Miss Litz was a subject to any of this testing."_ The file goes on, detailing my brain, stuff I had figured out on my own. I shut it and pick up a different file, glancing around at Steve, Tony, Bruce, and Hill each looking at a file. I open the file in my hands, my blood running cold as my eyes immediately connect with the picture of the man clipped to the front page…it was the man from Tennessee.

" _Miss Charlotte Litz, was found to have been kidnapped by a team under the direction of one Dr. Albertz Konig. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that Dr. Konig was the child of Dr. Johann Konig, a former HYDRA member, working as a lab assistant under Dr. Werner Reinhardt, whose base was broken down by Agent Peggy Carter and the Howling Commandos in 1945. The papers detailing HYDRA-based experiments seemed to have been passed down from Dr. Konig to his son. Dr. Konig, the father, was arrested and detained by SSR agents in 1945, but was released, having sworn he was not loyal to HYDRA, saying he was forced to work under Dr. Reinhardt in order to work off an old debt of his father's. It is still unknown to this day if any HYDRA-based experiments were performed on Miss Litz…annual test will proceed under the order of Director Fury._

 _Further investigation has revealed to be unsuccessful in the hunt for Dr. Konig. All assistants working under him at the time of Miss Litz's kidnapping have been captured. None will reveal where Dr. Konig is. At this time, Dr. Konig is being placed on a watch list, ordered for immediate capture for questioning pertaining to the kidnapping of Miss Charlotte Litz…"_ The file continues, telling of Dr. Konig's schooling and home life. Towards the back of the file are papers that seem to be newer than the ones in front. _"Date: June 2, 2004. Two weeks ago, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents June and Carver Litz attended the collegiate graduation of their daughter Charlotte Litz. During the ceremony, Agents Litz and Litz spotted a man they believed to be Dr. Konig, the kidnapper of Miss Litz. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on site followed the man as he exited the venue, but due to the crowd, were unable to apprehend him._

 _Yesterday, June 1, 2004, Agents Litz and Litz, were discovered deceased in their home by their daughter. Testing and evidence at the crime scene are inconclusive, but due to the timing, this incident is believed to be related to the sighting of Dr. Konig."_ I continue to read the file, detailing at least ten other incidences over the next nine years, up until about two months before the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. when agents had spotted Dr. Konig near me and then were found dead within a week…including my grandparents.

"Oh my gosh," I murmur under my breath, sitting the file down. I can feel everyone's eyes on me, wondering what I had just read. I never knew about any of these incidences. I knew my parents and grandparents had been killed, trying to protect me, I was told. But I had no clue about all the other agents. I vaguely register Steve picking up the file, my whole world was spinning around me. "I got to, um, I need to…fresh air or…something…" I shake someone's hand off my shoulder as I stumble from the room, heading towards the balcony. As I pass it, I stop by Tony's bar and grab a bottle of whiskey. I'm not a drinker at all…but now seemed like a good time to start…

oOoOo

 _Steve's Point of View_

"I would give her some space Cap," Hill says as I pace across the lab floor. "That's a lot of information for her to take in."

It had been a couple hours since Charlotte read the file on Dr. Konig. I watched her as she walked from the lab, stopping to grab a bottle of alcohol before walking out onto the balcony. As she stood out on the balcony, drinking and pacing, Tony, Bruce, and Hill worked on getting Dr. Konig into JARVIS's system, scanning the globe for any sign of him. Not long after he was in the system, Charlotte made her way back inside, passing by the lab and disappearing off into the building somewhere else. "I know," I say. "I doubt she had a clue about any of that so…"

"What I don't get is this," Tony says. I turn towards him, finding him staring at electronic files suspended in midair. "Fury kept this girl in a plastic bubble, basically her whole life, S.H.I.E.L.D. was all she knew or whatever…why would this Dr. Konig be so fixated on finding her? I don't really take her as the kind to divulge secrets…"

"She was his pet," Dr. Banner says. Everyone turns to look at him as he takes his glasses off, rubbing at his eyes. "It's classic in any mad scientist, we have to assume he's mad anyways. He did…whatever it was that he did to her, sent her off into the world and is now ready to collect the fruits of his labor."

"But what fruits?" Tony says. "So Sourpuss can remember a bunch of stuff…big deal?"

"If he could do whatever it was he did to her brain, imagine what else he could do," Maria says. "Experimentations with the human brain have done some…pretty weird stuff. If Konig can manipulate a mind to increase memory storage…who says he can't do more than that? Create an army of some sort."

"So basically, we're thinking that Konig wants Litz back so that he can see if he succeeded?" Bruce says.

"And then do what with her?" Tony says.

No one says anything, just stares off into space. "I'm going to see if I can find her," I say, walking towards the short staircase.

"I believe Dr. Litz is in the testing center," JARVIS's voice says over me. I mutter my thanks to him as I change directions and head towards the testing center. As I walk up to the door, I hear the loud, slurred lyrics of a song.

" _Cause I've got friends in looooow places, where the….alcohol drowns and more chases….but you'll never knooooooow-_ oh, hey Steve!" I watch Charlotte stumble over towards me, tripping over her own feet.

"I've never seen you drunk before," I say, leaning against the doorway.

"Oh, I know," she says, stopping a few feet from me. She takes a long pull from the now over half empty bottle. "I don't drink…ever. Cause….you know, it's reeeeeeally bad for you." She takes another drink from the bottle. "But, every instance I've ever heard of says that you are supposed to drink when you're upset so…here I am!" She swings her arms around, spinning herself around in a clumsy circle. "I am soooo not a graceful drunk that…is…for…sure."

"I can see that," I say. I press my lips together in a tight line. I did not like seeing her like this. It wasn't her.

"You know…" she says, starting to sway around the room again. "I am reeeeally angry at you Steve Rogers."

"You are?"

"Yes siree bob," she says, bring the bottle to her mouth again. "Youuuuu made me live here even I cannot stand Mr. Tony Stark." I start to talk, but she cuts me off. "I know, I know," she swings around to face me again. Her blue eyes are glassy and foggy from the alcohol. "You want to keep me safe-wooooo, whatever. But really? Here? Here is where you're going to keep me safe."

I let out a sigh and walk over to her. This had gone on long enough. "Okay, I'm cutting you off," I say, grabbing the bottle out of her hand. She protests, trying to grab the bottle back. "No, Charlotte, you're done."

"Booo," she says. "You're no fun."

"Come on," I say, reaching for her hand. "You need to go to bed. Charlotte, now…come on…ugh." She struggles against me, even tries to run away once. Finally, I just grab her around the waist and drape her over my shoulder.

"Oh sure!" I hear her say against my back. At least she wasn't fighting me. "Lock me away in a tower! Protect me, oh brave knight! I'm sure that'll keep me safe. Locked away in the impenetrable Stark Tower…oooooooh but wait!" I feel her feebly slap a hand against my back as I turn the corner down the hallway towards her bedroom. "Didn't Loki break into here like what…two years ago? I don't think you thought this through very well mister smarty-pants!" I let out a sigh as we finally reach her bedroom. Inside, I set her down on the floor. When I look her in the eyes I find them red-rimmed. "You're all going to die now…you know?"

Woah…talk about a turn of subject. "What are you-"

"Oh, I know you read the file Steve," she says, pushing my hand off her arm. I watch her as she stumbles over to her closet and starts rummaging through it. "You know," she says as she emerges, a large duffle bag in her hands. I stand there in silence as she throws the bag on the bed and then stumbles over to a dresser. "You know what happens to anyone who tries to stop Konig. They die. Every single one of them…dead."

"Charlotte," I didn't really know what to say. She was right…but that wasn't going to happen. She ignores me, carelessly throwing clothes into the bag, not folding them neatly like she normally would do. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm leaving," she says with a sniffle. She continues to stumble about the room, stuffing things into her bag. "Maybe if I leave, he'll leave you alone. Of course, it'll only work if you don't go looking for him. So you'll have to stop once I'm gone."

"That's not going to happen," I say. I walk over to her at the bed and place my hands over hers to stop her. She tries to struggle against me, but just doesn't have the strength in her. She looks up at me, eyes even more red and tears tracks running down her face. "You're not going anywhere and none of us are going to stop looking for him."

I expect her to yell at me, or push my away, but instead, she squeezes her eyes shut and hangs her head. "Please, Steve…" she says quietly. I move so that my arms are wrapped around her and that she's cradled to my chest. "You can't…I can't lose you too."

"You won't lose me," I say, rubbing my hand up and down her back. She sobs against my chest, murmuring incoherent words. "You won't lose me."


	12. Chapter 12

The weeks start to drag on as no sign of Konig emerges. Tony grates on my nerves even more and I feel like Steve's head is going to explode. "I'm not saying to stop looking for Konig," I say, tossing the medicine ball to him. He gives me an exasperated look as he catches it. With having nothing else to do, I continued on with my training, Steve helping me occasionally.

"Well, that sounds like what you're saying," he says, tossing the ball back to me. I let out a grunt as the weighted ball lands in my hands.

"I am saying," I set the ball down on the ground, my arms feeling like jelly now. "That maybe you should focus less on that…and more on finding the HYDRA hideouts with the rest of your team. If I have to hear Tony say one more thing-"

"I'm fine," Steve says, cutting me off. "I can focus on both."

"I know you say you can," I say. I take a couple steps towards him, shortening the gap between us. "But you are running yourself ragged. How many hours of sleep did you get last night?" He opens his mouth to answer and then shuts it, realizing I was right. "Exactly, you maybe got two hours."

"It's part of my job though," he says, giving me what I've named the "Captain Stare". "It's what I do."

"But _I'm_ not your job," I say, throwing my hands in the air. "I know, I know," I say, stopping him before he can refute my argument. "It may not be your job, but it's your duty to keep me safe. But Steve," I take another step towards him, resting my hands on his chest. "I worry about you. I don't want you running yourself ragged when there hasn't even been a whisper from Konig in almost a month."

Steve lets out a sigh as he covers my hands with his, his facial expression softening. "I know you worry about me," he says. "But you shouldn't. If we get hints or leads about Konig…or HYDRA for that matter…I'm going to follow them. They're both threats that need to be dealt with. And they will be dealt with, okay?"

I shake my head as I let out a small laugh. "I'm being an annoying, overbearing girlfriend, aren't I?"

He gives me a smile as he moves his hands from my waist and rests them on my shoulders. "I wouldn't say that," he says. I raise an eyebrow at him as he continues to smile at me. "I would say, more overly-concerned…but in a good way." I let out a groan as he laughs.

oOoOo

"Sourpuss," I hear behind me. The annoyance of the term prickles down my spine as I hear Tony ascending the stairs into the lab. I turn around to look at him, my halfhearted attempt to get along with him better. "Run and get my coffee, would you?"

"You're kidding me, right?" I say. I spin the chair around to face him better as he just stares at me. "Tony, I am not your errand girl."

"Well then, what are you doing here?" he asks, looking at Bruce as if for clarification.

Bruce looks up and shakes his head, as if he didn't want any part of the conversation. "I don't know how Steve would feel about her going out on her own though," he says timidly, still staring at his computer screen.

Tony rolls his eyes as he reaches into his pocket and produces a small see-through phone. "I know that," he says. "I had someone else go get it and now it's waiting down in the lobby."

"I am not going to the lobby to get your coffee," I say. "Besides, don't you have an entire floor dedicated to nothing but coffee? Why did you have someone go get some?"

"That floor is still under development," he says, looking at the phone. "You better hurry, no one likes cold coffee."

I stare at him for a few more seconds…and he wasn't kidding. Letting out a groan, I leave the lab. At the front desk, I spot the receptionist sitting behind the desk. Naturally, true to Tony's style, she was a bombshell-blonde beauty. But, she was actually really cool too. "Hello Lana," I say as I greet her. "I hear you have something for me?"

"Oh yes," she says, giving me an ironic smile. She holds the coffee cup up for me to grab. I mutter some thanks to her as I start to turn back towards the elevators. "Oh hey, Charlotte, hold on a second." I turn back around to face her, seeing her lifting a medium sized box out from under her desk. "This came for you."

"Me?" I say. She passes the box to me as I eye it. There's no return address or postage markings on it.

"Yes," she says. "Don't worry, it's already been through all the Stark security under the sun. It's safe."

"Do you know who dropped it off?" I ask her, still looking at the package. It was very basic, wrapped in brown paper and my name printed in a generic font from a labeler.

"No idea," she says, shaking her head. "Messenger dropped it off, I sent it to security and then they sent it back to me. All yours now."

"Thank you…I guess," Something about the package didn't sit right with me. I feel like I continue to stare at the box as I make my way back up to the lab.

"Aw, I ask you to get my coffee, and you go the extra mile and get me a present," I finally break out of my trance as I hear Tony. I snap my head up to see him and Bruce both looking at me as I enter the lab. Steve and Thor, who had just helped them with a HYDRA take down, was now there as well. "I'm touched."

"It's not for you," I murmur, handing him his coffee and then walking past him. I walk over to an empty desk and set the package down. "It's for me."

"You?" I hear Steve say. He comes to stand beside me as the rest of the group also crowds around me to stare at it.

"Yes," I nod my head. "Lana gave it to me downstairs. She said it had already been through security…."

"But…?" Steve could tell I was apprehensive about it.

"I don't know," I say, shaking my head. "It…I know this sounds crazy but…something feels off about it."

"Here," I hear Bruce say. "Allow me." I watch him as he produced some sort of wand looking device. I step back, allowing him to stand in front of the package. He waves the wand over the top and around the sides of the box, a soft mechanical hum sounding with each pass. "JARVIS?" he says, once he's covered the surface of the box.

"It appears to be safe to me Dr. Banner," JARVIS says overhead.

"Can you tell what's in it?" Tony asks. Even his interest was piqued.

"It seems to be a…stuffed animal sir," JARVIS says.

"What?" I say, reaching for the box. I was still apprehensive about it, but I wanted to see what JARVIS meant by a stuffed animal. The brown paper rips away easily, as does the tape on the box under it once I was handed a knife. Once the tape is gone, I lift the flaps and finally eye the item inside. "No…way…" I say. With shaking hands, I reach inside and pull out the stuffed elephant. "No…there's….no…."

"Charlotte, what is it?" I hear Steve say. I barely register his hand on my back as I continue to stare at the elephant.

Half a minute passes in silence, and I continue to just stare at the animal. "Is she under some sort of trance?" I hear Thor say.

"No," I say suddenly, shaking my head and moving the animal out of my line of sight. "I'm fine. I-" I stop when I see the small white card lying in the bottom of the box. Reaching in, I lift it up and read the small, neat familiar cursive writing _._ "Oh my god," I drop both the card and the animal on the metal table top. I back away from them, bumping into the men standing behind me.

Steve immediately steps in front of me, wrapping his hands around my shoulders. "Charlotte," he says, more authority in his voice. "What is wrong?"

" _Time to come home, darling?"_ I hear Tony say, reading the card. Steve turns to face him. Tony holds up the card, looking at us. "I suspect you know who sent this?"

I nod my head. "Um," I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. "That elephant was mine when I was a little girl, I took it everywhere with me. After my kidnapping, no one could find it. And um…that handwriting was on one of the documents at the place they held me."

Steve turns his head back towards me. He was giving me the 'Captain Stare' but there was fear behind his eyes. "Are you saying-"

"Konig sent it," I confirm. "And it seems he wants me."

oOoOo

"Hey," I say as I stand in the doorway of Steve's room. Steve turns around quickly to face me, a light covering of dirt on his face and still wearing his Captain uniform. A flash of panic disappears from his face. "Heard you were back. Didn't expect to find you in here though."

Steve nods his head slowly as I walk into the room. Him, Tony, and Thor had just gotten back on what I thought was just going to be a reconnaissance mission about Konig. Apparently, more than that had happened. "I…I wanted to make sure-"

"I was still here?" I finish for him. He lips mash into a hard line, confirming my guess. "Trust me, I think Maria would've told you if I disappeared." I say, sitting down on the end of his bed. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Steve lets out a sigh, moving to sit on the end of the bed next to me. "Yeah, I'm okay," he says. I gently grab one of his hands and wrap it in mine. "We thought we had found Konig's hideout. But, it turned out to just be a small HYDRA hideout."

I nod my head. "Maybe he's working for HYDRA now," I say. Steve looks at me, the gears in his head turning. "It's also possible that he's always been with HYDRA, since we now know that HYDRA was never really stopped."

Steve turns his head away, staring at the wall in front of us. "It's possible. That may actually make finding him easier if that were the case." He says. "What I'm trying to figure out though is this…why now?" I scrunch my eyebrows as I look at him, his jaw clenching and unclenching. "It seems to me, Konig has been following you ever since you escaped."

"But why has he suddenly, made himself known to me," I say, catching onto what he was talking about. I think about for a minute, also staring at the wall in front of us. "Maybe," I muse. "Maybe he wasn't sure if I was even alive…or with S.H.I.E.L.D." Steve turns to look at me, raising an eyebrow at me. "I mean," I was getting on a roll now, the whole plan unfurling in my head. "He experimented on my brain. There couldn't be a guarantee that I would survive it. Maybe, S.H.I.E.L.D. had me hidden so well, he didn't know if I was alive. But now…something, or someone tipped him off that I am alive."

"Fury…" Steve was, the name rolling off his lips like a curse. I ask him what he means as he shakes his head in what seemed to be disbelief. "When Fury had you fake your death, he sent out a fake news report also. Konig must have seen it."

"He saw it and set out to see if I was really dead or not," I say with a sigh. "He must have found me on my way back home from Fury's job."

Steve takes his hands out from between mine and wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to his side. "We'll get him Charlotte," he says.

"I know you will," I say. We sit there for a little bit, just Steve holding me. I don't really know how long we sit there but finally, Steve lets out a sigh.

"I probably need to shower," he says.

I nod my head as he stands up. "I wasn't going to say anything but…yeah," I say with a laugh. He smiles at me before ducking down quickly to plant a kiss on my lips. Half an hour later, he emerges from the bathroom, a pair of sleep pants covering his bottom half, but that glorious chest of his exposed.

"Oh," he says when he sees me, sitting on his bed in my own pj's and a cup of tea in my hand. "I didn't think you'd be out here."

I take a sip of tea before sitting it down on the table beside his bed. "Probably a good time to admit to you that when you leave, I might possibly sleep in here."

Steve gives me a smile as he walks over to the bed, occupying the space next to me. "I kind of suspected that," he says. "It's alright though."

"Yeah," I say, pulling my knees up to my chest. My head falls forward, coming to rest on my knees. Ever since Konig's package had arrived, my mind just wouldn't shut up.

"Hey," Steve says. I lift my head up as he shifts on the bed to face me, placing a hand on my back. "Are you okay?"

I shake my head. "I'm sorry," I say. "Ever since that note arrived, I can't get my mind to shut up. I just can't stop thinking about what Konig could possibly want with me."

"He's not going to get you." Steve says, trying to be reassuring. All sorts of torture techniques I had heard about or seen was running through my head. I let out a groan, pressing my palms against my temples, trying to think of anything else. "Hey, hey, hey," Steve says, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me against him. I lean against him, our bodies settling into a comfortable meld against the mountain of pillows behind us. Despite being in his arms, the thoughts still swim through my head. As if he can sense it, Steve's arms around me tighten and a familiar tune falls from his lips. " _Till then, my darling, please wait for me. Till then, no matter when it will be. Someday, I know I'll be back again. Please wait, till then…"_

He wasn't the best singer…at all. But, it was one of my favorite Mills Brothers' songs. It instantly calms me. The thoughts quiet and I'm just with Steve.

oOoOo

The sound of my phone ringing makes me jump slightly, it typically happens when I'm deeply lost in my book. I pick it up, seeing Steve's name across the top. He and the rest of the Avengers were off on another tip about HYDRA, leaving me and Maria Hill at Stark Tower. I didn't mind, it gave me some peace and quiet from Tony. "Hello my favorite soldier," I say, pressing the phone to my ear. "How are you?"

I set the book down beside my leg as a small laugh comes from the other side. "I'm fine," he says. "On my way home actually."

"Really," I ask, an eyebrow. "So soon? I thought you said-"

"It was another dead end," he says. "We're heading back right now."

"And here I thought I was going to get a nice vacation from Tony," I say with a sigh. "Well, at any rate, I'm glad you're coming home."

"Would you like to meet for lunch?" I tell him that I would, a smile growing on my face. "Great, how about we meet in Central Park? Like we used to?"

My mood instantly lifts with the idea of getting to go outside. It was a brilliantly beautiful day outside. "Okay," I say, standing up from the couch I was on. "I'll get the food and we can meet at that little waterfall?"

"Sounds good to me," he says. "We'll be back soon, so I'll meet you there in say…an hour?" I try not to squeal with delight as I okay it with him and hang up the phone.

An hour later, I'm sitting on the little stone bench we used to occupy before our move to D.C. Fifteen minutes pass with no sign of Steve. After another thirty minutes, I go ahead and pull out my water and take a drink of it. Ten minutes later, I finally have enough and pull out my phone. "Hello?" Steve's voice says through the little speaker.

"Where are you?" I say. "I've been waiting for almost-"

"Charlotte," Steve says, cutting me off. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm in Central Park," I say as I stand up to stretch my legs. "I've been here for almost an hour. Your food is probably-"

"What are you doing in Central Park?" Steve says, a panic tremoring in his voice. "Charlotte, what-"

"Oh no," I say, suddenly realization crashing over me. "Oh no, oh no, oh no…Steve, I think I've messed up."

"Charlotte, what do you- _Not now Stark! –_ What are you talking about?" Steve says.

"I got, I got a call earlier," I say, looking around. I hadn't realized no one had walked by me in almost half an hour. "It was, well, it was your voice and they…" I clamp my hand over my mouth to cover either a scream or a sob. "Steve…I'm so sorry…I'm so-"

"Get back to Stark's," he orders, full-blown panic in his voice. "Get back there now."

"It's too late for that," a voice behind me says. I spin around to see Lana standing there. Instantly, I knew what was going on. She shakes her head as she slowly walks towards me. "That was almost too easy. Konig said it would work…I shouldn't have doubted him."

"Lana," I say, still on the phone with Steve. Maybe the clue would help him find me.

"Lana?" I hear Steve yell on the other line. "Who's-" His voice is cut off suddenly. I look at the phone to see it's gone black.

"That's really pointless," Lana says, her voice now thick with a German accent. I continue to press at all the buttons on the phone as she pulls it out of my hands. I stare up at her as she smiles down at me sadistically. "Come with me. It's time."

"What if I don't want to?" I say, trying to best to sound threatening…but failing.

She doesn't say anything as she pockets the dead phone. Before I can react, she reaches up and smacks something cold against my neck and everything…goes…black…


	13. Chapter 13

_Steve's Point of View_

"How could you just let her leave?" I try my hardest not to yell at Maria…but my emotions were proving hard to keep in check. We were able to trace Charlotte to Central Park but then lost her. She was in the wind.

"I didn't just let her leave, Rogers," she says, also clearly shaken up. "When she told me she was leaving, I traced the call first and it led straight back to your phone. I even put a tracer in her pocket, just in case."

"That's down too, just like her phone," Bruce says, his eyes trained on the computer screen in front of him. "I'm not getting any traces of her…anywhere."

"JARVIS?" Tony says to his AI. "You got anything?"

"I was able to get a recording of the phone call Dr. Litz received before she left here," the voice rings out above us. "I don't know how much help it will be though."

"Maybe they threatened her or something," Natasha says, scrolling through security footage from Stark's building.

A second later, my heart gives a lurch as I hear Charlotte's voice overhead. _"And here I thought I was going to get a nice vacation from Tony,"_ her voice says, a small giggle ending the thought _. "Well, at any rate, I'm glad you're coming home."_

" _Would you like to meet for lunch?"_ Everyone stills as the other voice sounds above us, there was no denying that it sounded like me _._

" _That sounds so amazing,"_ Charlotte responds to the other person. Out of the corner of my eye I see Bruce and Tony start messing with their computers, no doubt running some sort of analysis.

" _Great, how about we meet in Central Park? Like we used to?"_ My nostrils flare. Of course they would know that would get Charlotte outside. Central Park was her favorite place in the world, after her archives or a library.

"I can't find any underlying voices on the recording," Tony says.

"Who's Lana?" I suddenly ask. The name barely registered in my memory. I had barely heard Charlotte say it as I was yelling at the rest of the team what was happening to her.

"Who?" a few of the people in the lab say.

"When I was on the phone with Charlotte, she said 'Lana', like someone was there with her," I say. "Whoever Lana is, she had something to do with it."

"There's a receptionist that works here named Lana," Maria says. All heads turn to look at her, except Natasha who is focused on a tablet screen. "I think Dr. Litz was friendly with her."

"This her?" Natasha says as she presses a button on the tablet. A large, blown up picture of a pretty blonde appears in the middle of the room so that everyone can see it. Maria nods her head.

"I recognize her," I say, nodding my head. "Charlotte did mention her a few times."

"JARVIS?" Tony says again, a little more annoyance in his voice.

"Extensive background checks are run on all employees, sir," JARVIS replies.

"Besides Litz…I don't think I've ever seen a background this clean," Natasha says, looking at the tablet again. "There's nothing- what the hell?" As we all turn to look at her, the large picture of Lana disappears from middle of the room in a flash of static. "It's gone…everything on her is gone."

Everyone, except myself and Thor, move in a flurry of motion, yelling out stuff at each other as they try to figure out what was going on. From what I could figure, someone had briefly hacked into Stark files and deleted all traces of Lana. Whoever it was though, was in and out so quickly, it was proving a challenge to trace it. "What I wonder is this," Thor says. I turn my head slightly to look at him. A thoughtful look was on his face, as if he were deep in thought. "How did they get her out of the park?" I ask him to clarify. He turns to face me directly. "You said she was in the park when she called you, yes?" I nod my head. "Well, carrying an unconscious girl out of a park would draw unwanted attention…she must have walked out of the park on her own accord…"

"Charlotte wouldn't walk out on her own," I say. "Natasha and Sam both taught her how to fight, she wouldn't just leave with them."

"I'm pulling up cameras around the entrances of the park," Clint says. All the cameras appear in the middle of the room in front of us. They rewind at a quick speed, timing back to when we figure Charlotte first entered the park. "There she is," Clint says, highlighting one screen. Sure enough, there was Charlotte, wearing her favorite green sundress, walking into the park. Clint slides the timer on the bottom of the screen to an hour later.

"No way," Someone murmurs. On the screen is Charlotte walking beside Lana out of the park. They stand on the sidewalk for a moment until a black suv pulls up in front of them. When the car pulls away, Charlotte is gone, Lana walking down the sidewalk away from the park.

"They had to have her drugged or something," Natasha says.

"It doesn't matter," I say, my shoulders tensing up with even more anger. "We find her. Now."

oOoOo

 _Charlotte's Point of View_

" _Guten Morgen, meine Freundin Charlotte,"_ a voice says above me. I try to open my eyes, but they still feel too heavy. " _Sind Sie immer noch müde, mein Haustier_?"

" _Wo bin ich?"_ I ask, in a dream-like stupor. I wasn't even sure if I was really awake or not. "Steve?" I say instinctively.

" _Nein, Haustier. Ihr Super-Soldat ist nicht hier,"_ the voice says. "Maybe if I speak in English, it will help you wake more." Suddenly, adrenaline courses through me and my eyes shoot open. Not immediately recognizing where I am, I try to sit up but am unsuccessful. I look down at my arms and legs to see them strapped down to the table I was lying on. The sundress I had been wearing had been replaced by a white hospital gown. I look at my right arm and see a set of hands withdrawing a syringe, no doubt containing the adrenaline that had woken me up, from the IV that was in my arm. I start to panic, struggling against the restraints. "Now, now, pet, calm yourself," the voice says again. I finally find the source of the voice. It was Konig. He was rubbing at my forehead, as if trying to calm down a child.

"Where am I?" I start to struggle even more. "Let me go! Where am I? Stop touching me!"

"Maybe a little something to calm her?" Konig says to a woman that was in the room with us. The woman nods her head as she grabs a vial of medicine and draws some out with a syringe. I try to struggle against it as she injects the medicine into my IV once again. Despite my best efforts, the medicine calms me down. It acts almost as a paralytic and all I can really do is talk. "There, that is more better." The table tilts, lifting my head up so that it's as if I'm standing. Konig moves in front of me, smiling at me. He looked exactly the same as he did in Tennessee. His eyes, an unnatural flat black, jet black hair streaked with silver slicked back on his head. Pearly-white teeth smiled back at me from behind thin, pink lips. "My pet…at last you are back with me."

"Don't…call…me…that," I say. The medicine they had given me almost had me asleep again.

"Oh," he says, as if talking to a small child. "You don't mean that. Now, tell me. How are you feeling?"

"I'm…not…telling…you…anything," I say. I didn't care what he wanted to know, I wasn't telling him anything. "Let…me…go."

"I knew you were a stubborn one," he tucks his hands behind his back, still smiling at me as if I was a cute child. "You will eventually work with me though. I know you will."

"You'll…regret…taking…me," I say. The medicine was working in full force now and I could feel myself being pulled back to sleep.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Avengers…will…come," I manage to slur out. The last I hear before falling back into oblivion is Konig laughing a sadistic, evil laugh.

oOoOo

 _Steve's Point of View – Two weeks later_

Looking around the lab, I could see the stress of the last two weeks etched on everyone's faces. Even Thor was looking a little more tired than usual. There hadn't even been a whisper of a hint of Charlotte, Konig, or Lana. We had nothing. Every place Konig or Charlotte had ever visited was searched thoroughly, but with no luck. We even tried to reach out to Fury, to try to figure out where he sent Charlotte after D.C., but we couldn't even reach him.

"If you're not going to sleep," Natasha says, appearing next to me. "You should at least ingest some caffeine." I stare at the paper coffee cup she sits down in front of me. It wouldn't help. Nothing artificial like that had any effect on me. I sip it with a nod though, barely even registering the burn of it on my tongue. I had detached myself from any sort of emotion when we realized Charlotte wasn't going to be easy to find. I was moving on auto-pilot, in full super-soldier mode. "We'll find her, Steve," Natasha says, trying to comfort me. "None of us will stop until we do."

"The guy has to have HYDRA behind him," Tony says from across the lab. I turn my head to look at him, waiting for further explanation. "No one guy can hide like he has been, without their backing."

"She thought he might be," I say. I hadn't said her name either. "After she received the package, she thought Konig might be working with HYDRA again."

"So we start searching HYDRA bases?" Hill offers.

"We'd have to find them first," Clint mumbles. It takes everything in me not to pounce on him.

"Sir?" JARVIS says overheard. "A package has just arrived."

Tony lets out an annoyed groan. "Not now JARVIS-"

"Sir, it's addressed to Captain Rogers," everyone in the lab stops moving. "And the return address says it's from Dr. Litz."

"Get it up here," Tony says. "Now."

A few minutes later the downstairs receptionist brings the package into the lab. Bruce takes it from her and sets it down on a table. The package looks exactly like the one Charlotte had received, except it was my name in the recipient line. Everyone gathers around as Bruce waves the miniature x-ray wand over it. "JARVIS, reading?" Bruce asks to the air.

"It appears to be a USB drive, Dr. Banner," JARVIS responds.

Bruce rips open the package to reveal the small, thumb size drive. He also produces an envelope, addressed to me. I take it from him and read the note inside out loud after opening it. " _'Fear not Captain Rogers, Charlotte is in good health. Why would I hurt my pet? If you do not believe me, see for yourself."_ I lower the card and look at everyone else, who in turn was looking at me. "What does he mean by that? 'See for myself'?"

"No way…" Tony says, looking at the USB drive in Bruce's hand. "That sick son of a bitch."

Bruce seems to catch onto whatever Tony was thinking. I watch, in confusion, as he turns and sticks the drive into a dock near the computer. A screen appears in the middle of the room. As the image clears, all the blood drains from my face. "Charlotte…"

oOoOo

 _Charlotte's Point of View_

I stare at the window, the sun light pouring in from towards the bottom of it. It must be late evening then; exactly two weeks since I was taken. I turn my attention from the window, my eyes dragging around the room. They land on something new this time though. The camera that was directly across the room from my bed that had been there since I was locked in here, now had a red blinking light. They must have had it off this whole time and just now finally turned it on. The heavy metal door of my room opens with a groan. Konig and Lana stand in the doorway, looking at me. "My pet, how are we doing today?" Konig says with a smile as he steps into my room. It was almost comical to refer to the small room as a room…it was more of cell: concrete walls, one barred window too high for me to even reach, one rickety bed with a thin mattress, and the thing that bothered me the most, a bucket for me to use as a toilet.

I suppress a shiver at the name Konig called me. "Well…room service could be better," I say, giving him a sarcastic smile. "And I know I requested 1000 thread count sheets, but the silly servant only brought me 500 count."

Konig just smiles at me. "I love your sense of humor," he says. He turns briefly to gauge Lana's reaction to my sarcasm, but she just stares at me blankly. "It's good…very good."

"Well, glad one of us is having a good time," I say, pulling my feet up onto the bed and crossing my legs.

"But, I do have a problem, my pet," he says, suddenly looking serious. He had given me this look before, but there was something about it this time that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. "Every day, every day I come here and I politely ask you questions. Yet, you never answer me. Why is this, my pet?"

"Well, it couldn't possibly be due to the fact that you're an evil guy who kidnapped me," I say. "Other than that fact…I just really don't want to answer whatever you have to ask me. It's a stubborn streak I picked up when you experimented on my brain as a child, you know?"

Yet again, Konig just smiles at me. "Oh, that sense of humor, I just love it," he says, wagging a finger at me. "But, my pet, I'm afraid I really need to you answer my questions. It's not me, trust me, I'd be happy just letting you live your life and seeing what my work produces. It's really my bosses-"

"Your bosses?" I cut him off. "Who's your bosses?"

"I think you know, pet," he says. "Now, my bosses want some answers. They told me that they are tired of waiting and they will get their answers…today."

My blood runs cold. I see Lana flex her hand, as if readying it. "How?"


	14. Chapter 14

_Steve's Point of View_

" _How?"_ Charlotte asks.

We all watch the screen as Konig takes the couple steps towards Charlotte and sits down on the edge of her bed. " _I want you to know that I take no pleasure in this,"_ he says to her. Charlotte visibly tenses up as Konig pats her knee.

"What's he planning on doing?" Clint says.

"Son of a bitch keeps jumping around," Tony says. Him, Bruce, and Natasha were trying to track down the location of the feed. "The IP addresses are changing too quickly for us to nail them down."

" _I'm sure that's true,"_ Charlotte snaps back at him. I was surprised at how calm she was appearing to them. Only I could see the slight twitch of her fingers.

We watch as Konig stands back up and walks over to stand near the door again. As he moves, Lana takes his place and stands in front of the bed. As she stands there, with Charlotte staring up at her, it dawns on everyone what was going to happen next. "Cap," Clint says behind me. "I don't know if you wanna-"

"We can't lose this connection," Natasha says, cutting him off. "We're closing in on the coordinates."

"It's fine," I say, my voice thicker than I expected. I briefly consider just closing my eyes, not watching at all. I couldn't bring myself to do it though.

" _Now, mein lieber, tell me,"_ Konig says. " _Where are your friends looking for HYDRA bases at?"_

" _Hmmm,"_ Charlotte says, as if thinking it over. Of course she knew the answer, though. She heard us talking about it all the time. " _You know, I can't really remember right now. If only someone had enhanced my-"_ Her remark is cut off by Lana striking at sickening blow to the side of her head with a rod of some sort. Charlotte remains quiet though, falling on her side on the bed, holding her head in her hands. The room around me, and the room in the video, falls silent except for Charlotte's heavy breathing. After a minute, she sits back up on the bed. After seeing her face, I do shut the eyes. The blood running down the side of her face, a welt already swelling up, her cheek probably broken; it was just too much to see her like that. " _Well,"_ Charlotte says. The calmness in her voice prompts me to open my eyes again. On the screen, Charlotte was staring up at Lana as if she was an annoying fly. " _Hitting me over the head isn't going to help with any sort of memory issues."_

" _This is true,"_ Lana says. In a swift movement she grabs Charlotte by the arm, roughly pulls her from the bed, and flings her into the wall opposite of the bed. Again, Charlotte's head smacks against the concrete before she crumples down the floor. " _Now,"_ Lana says, nudging Charlotte with her foot. " _Let's have a chat…"_

oOoOo

Finally, after over an hour of Lana beating on Charlotte, the blonde and Dr. Konig leave the room. The whole time they were in there, it was an unending cycle of them asking Charlotte questions, her not answering, and then Lana inflecting some sort of punishment on Charlotte. By the time they left, she was lying in a crumpled, bloody heap on the floor. "Damn…" Clint says quietly. "Girl can take a beating."

"You think that's a good thing?" I snap at him. My emotions were in a jumble. I didn't know what to think.

"We're getting closer Cap," Natasha says. I nod my head as my attention turns back to the screen. It was almost painful to watch her trying to crawl back to her bed. Eventually, she makes it and curls into a small ball, shoulders shaking no doubt from silent sobs. "We'll get her back."

I don't say anything else, just nod my head again and shut my eyes.

oOoOo

 _Charlotte's Point of View_

All I know anymore is pain. Pain and silence. At first I gave some sort of snarky remark, but after a while, I just didn't have the strength in me to even answer. I found the beatings were worse when I remained silent, but there was nothing I could do about it. After a couple days, Dr. Konig stopped coming in with Lana. At that point, I think they knew I wasn't going to answer. Now, they were just punishing me for sport. When Lana would come in, I would immediately just shut my eyes and let my mind bring me somewhere else. She would throw me around the room like a rag doll, wounds that had started to heal would burst open anew, I'm sure bones were breaking too. Essentially, I was a punching bag. A mere toy for Lana to practice on.

After a week of this, I just started wishing for a final blow. One that would finish me. Every time the wish would crawl through my brain though, I would immediately regret it. No, I had to keep on. I had to get out of here. Konig and Lana had to be stopped. I had to see Steve again. Steve, Steve, Steve. The memories of him were like a lifeboat, momentarily pulling me out of my current state. I had to see Steve again. Pain…but all I knew was pain.

oOoOo

 _Steve's Point of View_

I walk into the lab, after only a couple hours of restless sleep, to find Natasha standing at a computer. "Do you ever sleep?" I ask her. I don't think I had seen her sleep at all since Charlotte was taken.

"I catch what I need when I need it," she says with a shrug. I step up behind her, glancing over her shoulder at the screen. None of it really made sense to me. There were a lot of maps, flickering off and on the screen along with strings of numbers. "I'm getting closer. I can feel it."

I nod my head as I turn to look at the screen still hovering in the middle of the room. Charlotte was sitting in her bed, back resting against the wall directly in line with the camera. I stand there, just looking at her, taking in every detail about her. Her hair, matted with old blood, pulled back into a loose ponytail, bruises and swelling on every inch of her face, cuts and scrapes running up and down her arms, blood stains splattered over the tattered clothes she was wearing, and finally, the pained expression that crossed her face with every breath she took, no doubt the sign of numerous broken ribs. I didn't know if it was day or night there, but Charlotte looked as if she could fall asleep, or pass out, at any moment. _She's probably too scared to sleep,_ I think to myself. From what we had seen, anytime she fell asleep, Lana would burst into the room and inflict another round of beatings to her. As if she could tell what I was thinking, her eyes dart up to the camera and fixate on it. "I just want to sleep," she says suddenly. Behind me, I hear Natasha stop typing on the computer. "Please, just let me sleep."

I feel Natasha's presence beside me before she even speaks up. "Does she know-"

"I don't know," I say, shaking my head. They hadn't told her the camera was a live feed to us. She was smart enough that she could have figured it out on her own though.

"Lana, Dr. Konig, please, just let me sleep," she says again, tears starting to roll down her face. She must have thought the camera was a way for Konig to keep an eye on her. I subconsciously take a step closer to the screen. It's another minute before Charlotte speaks again. "Or just kill me." Somehow, the room around me grows deathly silent, not even the sounds of the tracking software on the computer are beeping at the moment. "I'm close to it anyways. I'm dehydrated, starved…you haven't fed me in a week? Why not just get it over with?"

Charlotte continues to stare at the camera as the door to her room opens. Konig walks in and comes to a stop beside her bed. "My pet," he says to her, cocking his head to the side. "Why do you say these things? I do not wish you dead."

I expect Charlotte to give him an ironic laugh. Instead, she tips her head back, letting it come to rest on the concrete wall behind her as she stares blankly at him. "Yes you do," she says, her voice flat. "Or else you wouldn't have let it go on this long."

"This is where you are wrong," Konig says, wagging a finger at her. " _You_ have let it go on this long. If you would have only answered our questions, you would not be in this state." She continues to just stare at him, not saying anything. "Do you not have any hope that your Avengers will come save you?"

I feel my heart skip a beat as Charlotte shuts her eyes, fresh tears rolling down her face. _Had she given up hope that I would find her?_ I expect her to tell him yes…the answer was written all over her face. Instead, she starts singing. " _Till then, my darling, please wait for me. Till then, no matter when it will be. Some day, I know I'll be back again. Please wait, till then…"_

"I got it," Nat says suddenly, her words pulling me back up like a life preserver. I take the short couple of steps over to her, looking over her shoulder as the screen zooms in on a spot on the map, somewhere in the middle of Sweden. "JARVIS, wake the others."

"They are already on their way to the lab, Agent Romanoff," JARVIS replies.

Natasha looks at me, a gleam of hope in her eyes. "We got her Steve."

oOoOo

 _Charlotte's Point of View_

Somewhere in the middle of the song, Dr. Konig had slipped out of the room. The song was comforting to me, and seemed to be the only thing that helped me cling on to the last shred of hope I had of being rescued. I knew that Steve wouldn't stopped until he found me, even if he was the only one looking for me, he wouldn't stop. But, my body was another story. I was dying, slowly and painfully, my body was shutting down. I didn't know if I could hold out much longer. Slipping down in the bed, I curl into a fetal position. The pain of laying like this doesn't even phase me anymore. Quietly, I continue to sing the song to myself. Eventually, I stop singing it out loud and the tune starts playing in my head. As my eyes shut, another image fills my vision. I'm back in my apartment I had in New York before I moved to D.C. I'm facing the window that gave me a breath-taking view of New York at night. In it, I also see my reflection. All the bruising and swelling was gone, instead replace by my usual makeup. I also see Steve's face appear over my shoulder. Turning away from it, I see Steve walk into the living room. Instead of wearing the clothes I was used to seeing him wear, timeless, simple pieces, he was wearing his military dress uniform. On instinct, I look down to see I'm wearing a dress that could've been snatched right out of the forties.

Steve comes to stop in front of me, holding out his hand towards me. "Charlotte?" he asks, giving me a smile.

"I thought you couldn't dance," I tease him as I place my hand in his.

His hand curls around mine before he twirls me, spinning me into his arms. "I can with you," he says, his other hand coming to rest on the small of my back.

I give him a small smile before stepping a little closer to him and laying my head on his chest. The Mill's Brothers plays softly in the background as we gently sway and step in a small circle. "I love you Steve," I say breathily.

"I love you too Charlotte," he says back.

I let out a sigh as I somehow maneuver myself closer to him. "Can we stay like this forever?"

"Yeah," he says. I feel his hot breath trickle down my scalp as he leans his head down to kiss the top of my head. "Forever…"

oOoOo

 _Steve's Point of View_

"We think Charlotte is here," Natasha says, pointing to a spot on her tablet. Someone was able to dredge up floorplans of the building we think Charlotte is in. "There doesn't seem to be much electronic security-"

"And since we're basically flying in blind we have no clue what kind of man-power is on the ground." Clint adds.

"We're about five minutes out," Tony says from the cock pit of the jet.

I had never felt like this before a mission. I was always, cool and calm. Now, I was antsy and jittery. "When we land priority one is getting Charlotte," I say, unnecessarily tightening the chin strap on my helmet.

"We know that Rogers," Natasha says. My eyes finally met with hers. I could immediately recognize the look on her face, she was concerned about me doing this.

"I'm fine," I say, answering her unspoken question.

"Never said you weren't," she says, an eyebrow arching up as she looks down at the tablet again.

oOoOo

"Nothing about this seems right," Natasha says as we walk across the forest floor towards the building. There wasn't a soul around. None of Tony or Natasha's instruments were picking up any heat signatures.

"I thought this was supposed to be the place," I say through clenched teeth.

"It is. Hold on-" Nat says. Everyone stops walking as she stares down at the little screen. "I'm getting some heat signatures now."

"How many?" Thor asks.

"This…what?" Nat says, tapping at the screen. "I'm only getting three?"

"JARVIS?" We hear Tony says. After a moment, he speaks out loud again. "She's right…there's only three people here."

"So," we hear Bruce say over comms. "No need for a code green then."

oOoOo

The five of us slowly make our way through the building. It looked like it had been deserted. "They must have picked up that we were coming," Natasha says.

"So is Litz even here?" Clint asks.

"Of course she is," a voice says behind us. We all turn around, brandishing our weapons. Lana stands there, staring us down. "Well, what's left of her any way."

"Where is she?" I say through gritted teeth. At that moment, I really wished I carried a gun.

"Oh, her and Konig are hiding around here somewhere," she says, waving a dismissive hand in the air. "You were right though. Once we realized you were coming, everyone else left."

"Why didn't you?" Tony asks her, the humming of his weapons growing louder, begging to be fired.

"I'm ordered to serve Dr. Konig," she says, a grimace quickly passing over her face. "I have to go where he goes and he refused to leave his _Liebchen."_

"Where is she?" Natasha demands.

Lana throws her head back laughing. "As if I would ever tell you," she says. "You better hurry though. HYDRA likes to go out with a bang."

"The place is rigged to blow," Tony says, answering everyone's unspoken question. "We've got five minutes."

"Everyone split up, now," I yell, taking off running down the hall.

"JARVIS just picked up two heat signatures in the northwest corner," Tony says over the comms. "I'm heading there now, everyone else get back to the jet."

"I'm heading that way too," I say. Tony doesn't dare question me or suggest otherwise. I push my feet and body as fast as they go, navigating through the hallways. Finally, I come to a door at the end of the hallway, where I hear the last sound I thought I would ever hear on this rescue mission: loud sobs. I slowly push the door open and see Konig kneeling beside Charlotte's bed, sobbing onto the mattress. After grazing over him, my eyes immediately land on Charlotte. "Charlotte," her name comes out like a breath as I move towards her. I can see the rise and fall of her chest, but it was labored and shallow. I push Konig to the side as I lean down to pick her up.

"No!" the doctor says, pushing back at me but not succeeding in moving me. "You can't take her, she's mine! I created her! She's my pet…and now I'm losing her…"

"No, she's not," I say. I remove my arms from under Charlotte and do what I've wanted to do for a long time, punch Konig right in the face. He falls to the ground in a heap, no doubt unconscious. I move to pick up Charlotte again as Tony comes in the room.

"Let me take her Cap," he says, stepping towards me.

"I've got her," I say, subconsciously hugging her tighter to me. She felt so limp and lifeless.

"This place is going to blow in less than two minutes," Tony says. "That's not enough time for you to run her out of here. I'll fly her out and then you can get yourself out."

He was right. I watch him as he blasts a hole in the side of the building, giving them an escape route. As I pass her to him, I give him a hard, warning stare. "We'll meet back at the jet," I say. He nods his head as his suit lifts in the air a little and then takes off out of the building. I run after them, staring at the distance from where I was to the forest floor below. _I've made taller jumps than this…_ I think to myself. After taking a few steps back, I break out in a sprint and run out of the opening. The forest floor lands hard below my feet, but I barely notice it as I take off in a sprint towards the jet. "Hurry up Cap," I hear Natasha say into the comms.

I hear the explosion on my back before I feel the rubble rain down on me. It doesn't slow me down though. Finally, the jet is in my sight. As I jog up the ramp, the jet is already rising in the air. "We're going to have to take her straight to a hospital," I hear Bruce say. It takes me half a second to locate Charlotte. Natasha was pumping on her chest in a sickening way while Bruce was forcing oxygen into her with a mask. "She stopped breathing right as Tony brought her on the jet," Bruce says, I assume to me.

I felt like I could pass out. "So she…"

"If we can get her to a hospital quick enough, she might make it," Bruce says. "If not-"

"I've got a heartbeat," Natasha says, cutting him off.

"Good," he says, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "Now, it's just a race against the clock."


	15. Chapter 15

_Steve's Point of View_

I run beside the stretcher, helping the rest of the team as we push it down the ramp of the jet. Tony had landed us at a trauma hospital in London. He had some sort of connections there, so they were expecting us. Also, some doctor that he knew was flying in. I didn't catch her name though; my focus was else-where. As we near a set of elevator doors, they open, revealing a medical team. "What do you have for me?" one of them yells over the wind.

"We're not sure," Bruce says. "We lost a heart beat a couple times on the way here, but she's stable for right now."

"Let's get her inside," the doctor says. "See what we're dealing with." One by one, the medical team replaces members of our team, pushing the stretcher into the elevator. "You lot come after us on the next lift," the doctor yells back at us, his eyes never leaving Charlotte. "Go down to the ground floor, there'll be nurse down there that'll direct you where to go."

The doors to the elevator shut, separating us from them. I stare at the shiny silver doors, not knowing how to think or what to do. A minute later, they open again and someone has to nudge me to get me moving again. "Come on Cap," Natasha says, bringing me out pf my stupor. "Let's go."

oOoOo

"…ruptured spleen and appendix. The untreated appendix caused a major injection, causing her to now be septic," the doctor tells us. Everyone is stone silent as he lists off Charlotte's different injuries. "She also had a punctured lung caused by numerous fractured ribs. Oddly enough, it was the dehydration that caused her heart to stop. She was severely starved as well along with what appears to be multiple blunt force traumas to the head."

The room stays silent, until Tony is the one to finally speak up. "Where is she now?"

"She's in surgery," he tells us. "They are dealing with the major things right now. Once they have her more stable, they'll place her in a room until they can go back in to take care of the smaller things, the broken bones, fractures, and things of that nature."

Somebody thanks the doctor before he walks out of the room. I sink down into a nearby chair, not sure what to think. "One of you two want to tell me if she'll actually make it?" I say, finally finding my voice and looking up at Tony and Bruce.

Tony doesn't say anything, just shakes his head and walks to a different part of the waiting room. "It appears to me to just be a waiting game," Bruce says. He takes his glasses off, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "I…I just don't know Steve."

"She'll be fine," Natasha says. I cut my eyes to her, finding her giving me an almost menacing stare. "Charlotte is a survivor; we all saw it on the video. She will be fine." I nod my head, wanting to agree with her. I think she was only say it to convince herself though. I wouldn't call Natasha and Charlotte friends…but they had some sort of weird camaraderie between them.

Nobody else says anything, each scattering around the waiting room, except for Clint who walks out of the room, pressing his phone to his ear. I don't think twice about it, maybe he was calling Fury, I didn't really care though.

oOoOo

"Hey," I feel someone, push on my arm. I sit up with a start, not even realizing I had dozed off. My eyes settle on Natasha who was standing in front of me. "They have Charlotte in a room, come on."

I nod my head as I stand up and follow the rest of the group out of the room. We make our way through the hospital, sure enough gaining a few stares, especially me and Thor. Finally, we come to an intensive care unit. A nurse directs us to a pod towards the back of the unit. Everyone waits outside the door, letting me go in first. She could have been sleeping, except for the tube coming out of her mouth, the various I.V.'s hooked into her arm, and the cast on her arm and leg. I can vaguely hear the surgeon behind me explaining to the others what the next move was going to be. "They're going to try and take her back into surgery early tomorrow morning," Natasha says, coming up to stand beside me.

"Okay," I say, my voice coming out gravely. Seeing her laying there, it was like everything cemented in my mind. Charlotte was badly, almost fatally injured. None of us in this room right now knew if she was going to live to see her next surgery. And it was all Konig's fault. "What happened to Konig? And Lana?"

"Konig died in the explosion," Clint says.

"And Lana didn't even make it to see the explosion," Natasha says. "She thought it'd be wise to try and stop us. Idiot."

I nod my head. "Good," I say. At least they wouldn't be able to cause her any more harm.

"Dr. Cho," Bruce says behind me. I turn my head to see him shaking hands with a Korean woman. "Steve, this is Dr. Helen Cho. She's a geneticist from Seoul. She's going to take a look at Charlotte, see what she can do."

I stare at her for a moment before nodding my head. She in turn, nods her head once before moving over to Charlotte and starts looking her over. "She definitely has massive internal damage," Dr. Cho says, looking between a tablet and at Charlotte. "But the infection is the big cause for worry it seems. If that can't get cleared up-"

"They can't finish repairing the damage inside," Bruce finishes for her.

I watch them move around her, talking about medical things that were over my head. Dr. Cho also confers with Charlotte's surgeon and they both agree to let her assist on the next surgery. "It's all just a waiting game now," Dr. Cho says, looking directly at me. "I have high hopes, though."

The words come out of me without even thinking. "I think you're the only one."

oOoOo

 _Charlotte's Point of view_

The mind works in mysterious ways. Very, very, mysterious ways. At this time, I knew what was going on…well, sort of. I knew I was in a hospital in London…I think it was Royal London Hospital. I was in a medically-induced coma. Underneath the blankets that where covering me, my stomach was still open, packed, and waiting for my next surgery. A Dr. Cho was going to take over my care; I was still fuzzy on who she was exactly. Natasha was there…yelling at nurses, naturally. Bruce was helping the Dr. Cho with my care. Thor was there, continuously asking what different machines were. Clint was in and out. Even Tony was there…surprisingly being not annoying. Steve…Steve was there, a constant presence by my side. He didn't say much. He was just there. He was nervous…scared even. I wanted nothing more than to reassure him. I was going to be fine. Another few days and I would wake up. He could take me home. We could go back to- hold on…he's shouting all of a sudden. I can hear a flurry of commotion around me. Something was wrong. I don't feel right. Something is happening. They're moving me. I'm flying down the hallway. I'm flying…flying so high…

oOoOo

 _Steve's Point of View_

After they had wheeled her out of the room, I stood there, not sure what to do. They had said something about her crashing…they had to get her into surgery now. Dr. Cho said she was going to scrub in. That was good. She seemed kind…and smart…Charlotte would like her. Eventually, I find myself standing in a chapel. I don't really remember walking down here, but I guess I did. There wasn't anyone else here, that didn't surprise me though. I'm not sure where the rest of the team was; but I didn't expect to see any of them showing up here. I sit down in a pew towards the middle of the room, staring up at the illuminated cross. The room was dark, the only light coming from the candles along the side of the room and the flood light pointed straight at the cross.

"I haven't really done this in a while," I say out loud. My voice sounds off. I felt off though, so it shouldn't shock me. "I, you know, went to church back before I went down in the ice. But now…I don't really know what to believe, or who's up there, or if anyone really is." I didn't really know why I was talking out loud. There was no need for it…but it felt good to do. "If there is a god…or gods…up there, you've got to save her." I take a deep breath, resting my elbows on my knees. "I can't lose her, I just can't. After Peggy and the ice and everything…I thought I'd always be alone in that way for the rest of my life. Then Charlotte showed up. I love her, so much. Just...please, don't take her away from me."

I continue to sit there, my eyes shut, just thinking and re-living memories of me and Charlotte. I'm not sure how long I sit there for…it must be for a couple hours. I barely register the creaking of the door hinges behind me. A second later, I can feel someone's presence behind me. "She's out of surgery," Natasha says. I turn my head to see her standing off to my right. Even without looking at her face, I can read the emotion in her voice. "Charlotte's going to be fine."

I simultaneously stand and turn to face her. "Is she awake?"

Natasha shakes her head. "Not yet," she says. "They said it probably wouldn't be for a while until she wakes up. They want to give her lungs some time to strengthen before they take her off the vent."

"Okay," I say, nodding my head. Silently, we walk out of the chapel and make our way to Charlotte's room.

"I don't know…" I hear Bruce say as we near the door. "We'd have to ask Steve-"

"Ask me what?" I say, walking into the room. Tony, Bruce, and Dr. Cho were standing at the foot of Charlotte's bed, heads close together, talking something over. When I enter the room, they all turn to look at me like they had been caught doing something they shouldn't have been doing.

Bruce lets out a sigh as he pushes his glasses up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Tony suggested moving Charlotte back to Stark Tower."

"I just feel like she'd be more comfortable waking up in a place she recognizes," Tony says. The arrogance on his face told me he couldn't understand why no one agreed with him. "She was held hostage for weeks…she's probably going to be freaked out when she wakes up."

I cross my arms over my chest as I turn slightly towards Dr. Cho. "And what do you think?" I ask.

"Tony does have a point," she says, almost timidly. "It would be an easier transition for her if she woke up in a place she recognized. But, transporting a patient, especially one that's been through the trauma she's been through, has its risks."

"What do her other doctors say?" I ask.

"They said they were okay with it," Tony speaks up before the others can. "They said as long as Banner and Dr. Cho are around they'd be comfortable with us transferring her. It's up to you Cap."

I nod my head once at him, not giving him an answer yet. Walking past them, I go to stand beside Charlotte. She already looks better; there was some color in her cheeks, her hand was warmer, even her hair seemed shinier. _What do you think?_ I silently ask her. "Alright," I say, finally coming to a decision. "Let's take her back to New York."

oOoOo

"There's no need to run Cap," Bruce says as I come to a stop at the doorway. "We weren't going to take her off until you got here."

It had been almost a week since we transferred Charlotte back to Stark Tower. Dr. Cho and Bruce finally decided that Charlotte's lungs are strong enough to come off the vent, so they are taking it out and waking her up today. "Did I miss it?" I hear Natasha say behind me. I turn my head slightly as she moves to stand beside me, apparently she had run too.

"No," I say, shaking my head. "You didn't."

Dr. Cho and Bruce work in tandem removing the ventilator as Natasha and I move to stand by the bed. Once the tube is out of her mouth, Dr. Cho pushes some sort of medicine into one of Charlotte's I.V.'s. "This will just help her wake up a little," she explains. "Don't be surprised if she's a bit groggy or jumpy when she first wakes up."

I nod my head as I take her place, moving closer to the head of the bed. About fifteen minutes later, Charlotte's eyes start twitching, like she's waking up. Sure enough, a minute later, her eye lids flutter open. She first stares at the ceiling, then they start to scan the room. "Hey," I say quietly, capturing her attention. Her eyes land on me, wide like she wasn't entirely sure where she was. "Charlotte, you're okay. You're at Stark Tower."

"Okay," she says, still staring at me with wide eyes.

"You gave us a hell of a scare Litz," Natasha says.

"Oh," Charlotte says, staring at Natasha this time.

"Charlotte," Bruce says, capturing her attention. She turns her head to look at him and Dr. Cho on the other side of the bed. "I'm just going to ask you some routine questions, okay?" Charlotte nods her head as he gives her a small smile. "Can you tell me what year it is?"

Silence fills the room for a moment until Charlotte shifts one of her casts. "No," she says quietly.

Bruce's eyes flit up to me briefly as Dr. Cho takes a step closer to Charlotte. "Do you know who the president is?" she asks her. As Charlotte shakes her head, dread starts to fill me. "Do you know who this is?" Dr. Cho asks, pointing at Bruce. Charlotte shakes her head.

"What's my name?" Natasha says. There was an undercurrent of frustration in her voice.

Charlotte turns her head to look at Natasha. She looks at her briefly before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I don't know."

"Charlotte," I say, grabbing her hand. Her eyes go wide as I search her face, but find no recognition anywhere. "You know who I am…right?"

She quickly pulls her hand out from mine as she shakes her head. "No."

 _To be continued…_


End file.
